OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
Let's welcome back our VIPs, Bruce Campbell and his co-star from "Ash Vs. Evil Dead," Lucy Lawless.
(APPLAUSE)
LUCY LAWLESS: Oh, for the last time, it's not I-I-I-I-yah (ph).
OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
(Laughter).
LAWLESS: For goodness sake, it's spelled A-L-A-L-A-L-A-L.
(Screaming).
EISENBERG: All right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: How did they convince you to do "Ash Vs. Evil Dead?"
LAWLESS: Well, you're right, it took a lot of soul-searching.
(LAUGHTER)
LAWLESS: No, I was about to sign on the dotted line with some really cool people and a really great role and really quite a nice deal, and my husband, Rob Tapert, rang and said, oh, you know, Bruce and Sam would like to bring you down for this role. How do you feel about that? And I said, yes, I am there. And I had to tiptoe out of this other deal - 'cause they're such nice people, but I was like, sorry. I just can't turn down...
BRUCE CAMPBELL: Sorry, Steven Spielberg, sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: And just so we all know the lineage, you are married to Robert Tapert.
LAWLESS: Right, and he was with Sam and Bruce, and they all dropped out of graduate school. But yeah, they made this little movie. And all the people that invested in that dined out on "Evil Dead" proceeds for the rest of their lives. And in fact, their kids - 'cause a lot of them have passed away - all their kids are still getting checks. So you done good, Bruce.
EISENBERG: Wow, yeah. Now, the fans demanded more "Evil Dead." I'm sure you were constantly inundated with people, your fans, wanting more "Xena."
LAWLESS: Yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
LAWLESS: Yeah.
EISENBERG: What is your response to that?
LAWLESS: I hate to be honest about this, but I probably couldn't do it. It's so physical. You've got to be really young and hungry to take the punishment. It's super punishing. But to do a one-off raucous comedy with the original cast would be to be the way to go, I think.
EISENBERG: I mean, "Xena" paved the way for future generations of female action heroes. I don't know if you have felt a lot of pressure being a feminist icon that people are like, OK, this has to be what it is, or if you bathed in it.
LAWLESS: Hmm...
(LAUGHTER)
LAWLESS: I was born bathed in, you know, one of the most egalitarian societies on earth, I think. And I have five brothers. And mother said I didn't know I was a girl till I was about 8, when they broke the news.
(LAUGHTER)
LAWLESS: (Laughter). So I didn't really understand the need for feminist and egalitarian girl-power role models, but I'm getting it now. I don't think that Xena and Gabrielle's job is done, you know, there's still need for, not just female empowerment, but also self-realization and triumph of the individual against the tyranny of the many.
EISENBERG: Yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: So your role on "Ash Vs. Evil Dead," Ruby is basically Ash's enemy of sorts in this.
LAWLESS: Yeah, he is called - he calls the death of my father, Professor Knowby, the original owner of - or, holder of the Necronomicon, my mother and my sister have been completely orphaned, and now I want vengeance. Plus, he's just released the Deadite plague for a second time. He's that big a dunce.
(LAUGHTER)
LAWLESS: So it is time to eradicate him.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: A little window into what set's like.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: All right. We should put you guys against each other in a game. I feel like that would be a perfect competition.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: So we all have our plans about how we're going to survive the upcoming zombie apocalypse. This game is about those plans. We went out and asked our audience questions about how they would handle the end of the world. And our audience is comprised of nerdy, zombie-fearing millennials.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: So all you have to do is guess how they responded to the questions we asked them.
LAWLESS: Amazing.
EISENBERG: So ring in when you know the answer. If you get the answer wrong, your opponent will get the point. Yes.
CAMPBELL: So it's risky.
EISENBERG: It's very risky, and the winner will receive an ASK ME ANOTHER Rubik's Cube.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: We asked our audience what would they do if their best friend became infected with whatever is turning people into the undead. Did they say that they would, A - keep them chained up but alive, hoping to find a cure, or, B - kill them humanely before they tried to eat or kill them?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Bruce.
CAMPBELL: Chain them up, hope for the best.
EISENBERG: You have a kind heart, but they said kill them humanely.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Seventy percent.
(LAUGHTER)
LAWLESS: So all I have to do is not press this buzzer.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: OK, question 107.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: We asked, what is your weapon of choice to fight off the undead - a shotgun, chainsaw or a crossbow?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: Bruce - diving right back in.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Unafraid.
CAMPBELL: Fear is your enemy in this game.
COULTON: I agree with you.
(LAUGHTER)
CAMPBELL: And I'm going to kill these filthy creatures from a distance. I'm going for that damn crossbow, even against my own intuition.
COULTON: I'm sorry, that's incorrect.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
COULTON: Crossbow was about 20 percent. About 20 percent said crossbow.
CAMPBELL: Twenty percent? These people are stupid.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: So is it shotgun or chainsaw? It's a 50-50 chance. Lucy?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
LAWLESS: Chainsaw.
COULTON: Chainsaw is also incorrect.
(BOOING)
COULTON: These people - our audience said shotgun. Fifty-three percent said shotgun.
EISENBERG: Yeah? Yeah, well.
COULTON: You know, you...
LAWLESS: But where's the fun in that?
EISENBERG: I agree.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Where's the fun in a zombie apocalypse, really, when you think about it?
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: We asked our audience to imagine they were safely ensconced in their fortified bunker when two people bang on the door begging to come in. One is a comedian...
CAMPBELL: Oh, that old trick.
(LAUGHTER)
CAMPBELL: I'm OK now, Ash. I'm OK.
(LAUGHTER)
CAMPBELL: Open the door. Everything's fine. I'm your sister.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Assuming neither one is infected and neither one is going to kill you, necessarily, one is a comedian and one is a musician. Who did our audience say they would take in?
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: This is a relevant question...
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: ...For us in particular. Lucy, yes?
LAWLESS: The musician.
COULTON: I like the way you think, Lucy. And you are correct, 60 percent...
(APPLAUSE)
COULTON: ...Said leave the comedian outside to die.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Let's go to our puzzle guru, John Chaneski.
JOHN CHANESKI: It was very close...
(LAUGHTER)
CHANESKI: ...But Lucy Lawless lives to fight another day. Congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Unbelievable. We are so psyched for the series. We are thrilled that you came on the show and played with us. Big hand for our VIPs, Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless.
CAMPBELL: Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
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