John McGivern’s Main Streets

– Emmy Fink: This is so exciting, riding together to the last episode of season three.

But you're kind of going a little fast.

– John McGivern: I'm not going fast, no.

If I am, I can't wait to get to Clipsville.

Very exciting!

- Is that in Wisconsin?

- Oh, Lord.

– Lois Maurer: Not only is it in Wisconsin, but it's out here, you guys.

Come on.

- We're here!

- All right, Lois is here!

– John: I told you, we're excited to be in Clipsville.

Let's go!

- We didn't even have to stop to go to the bathroom, right?

– Announcer: Thanks to our underwriters.

- Wisconsin's picture-perfect historic downtown Greendale isn't just a great backdrop for photos.

It's the perfect place to experience history, get a treat for your furry friends or for yourself, grab some ice cream, or a treat of a different kind, or slow down and relax.

Ask anyone who's made memories here.

We'll all tell you the same thing.

You just gotta see Greendale!

- At We Energies, we believe communities are stronger when we all work together.

For more than 40 years, the We Energies Foundation has supported charitable organizations across Wisconsin.

Together, we're creating a brighter future.

- My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way.

O&H Danish Bakery, where Kringle traditions begin.

- Heiser Automotive is honored to help John McGivern and his team arrive safely to many Main Streets.

We are committed to remaining true to the Heiser way: Do what's right for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve.

We are happy to help.

- From the Green Circle Trail to Point Brewery, you'll find more fun in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

- Looking to bring life to your Wisconsin Dells getaway?

Bring your family, bring your friends, bring an extra suit, and bring on the water parks!

Summer in Wisconsin Dells, bring it on!

Wisconsin Dells, the waterpark capital of the world.

WisDells.com.

- Twenty-minute commutes, weekends on the lake, warm welcomes, and exciting career opportunities, not to mention all the local flavor.

There's a lot to look forward to in Wisconsin.

Learn more at InWisconsin.com.

– Announcer: Thanks to the Friends of Plum Media and to the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

'Cause these are our Main Streets Something 'bout a hometown speaks to me There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here On these Main Streets - For our last episode of season three, we wanted to give you a look behind the scenes.

So this show is very different than a regular episode, obviously.

Just look around.

- Right?

Because we're not outside on a Main Street.

No, we are inside in Plum Media Studio, which today, we are calling... - In Unison: Clipsville.

- Right?

It's so fitting.

All of these clips, they come from season three, the season you just finished watching, or we hope you did.

Sometimes we share behind-the-scenes content on our social media pages.

So if you follow us, and you should, you might have a better idea of how things really go on Main Streets.

- You watch the episodes, but we live the episodes, and so much happens that you never get to see.

We shoot for days to make one episode.

If it looks like we just go place to place in a day and cover a town, well, that's because I wear the same shirt the whole time we're there.

And that's what you believe is the magic of television, which is not magic at all.

Let me show you how our day begins.

Take a look.

People think, "Oh, you just go out there and talk to people."

There is method to our madness, right, Lois?

– Lois: There's an awful lot of method.

[laughs] - Here's our day.

So we start off, and they're all color-coordinated.

– Lois: 'Cause I like that.

- You do.

I like it too.

There's yellow, means I'm gonna be talking to somebody.

Blue means I'm gonna be just talking to myself, to camera.

– Lois: Do you wanna guess which ones he likes the best?

[laughs] They'll think you like talking to the people, but the truth is-- - I like doing stuff by myself and only me.

– Lois: It's fast, it's fast.

- It's quick.

– Lois: Yeah.

Oh, there's breakfast on the run because this is how we live.

– Brian: Yeah, breakfast.

- Is this a surprise for somebody, the Clif Bar for later?

Along with, this is their tool.

[group laughs] Brian and Gail.

Brian does all the shooting.

Gail does all the audio.

So Gail has been with us forever.

- Forever.

- And Brian is new this year, and we're wondering if he'll ever come back.

[laughs] - Lois: He hasn't decided yet, but we're really hopeful.

– John: So this is the beginning of our day.

There's hope in the beginning.

Talk to me at 5: 00 and see what happens.

Our crew is in a community for four days.

I'm there for three, and Emmy, you're in there for one.

So when you're not there, I sit in the back of the van, all smooshed in with all that gear.

- Here's the thing.

I'm pretty sure Lois would let you drive if you wanted to.

- I would never drive.

I would never drive that van because it's weird.

I think it's weird to drive a car with my name all over it.

It's like, "Look at him."

- No, absolutely, I would totally drive a car with my name on it, 100% 'cause I have to drive myself to all of the locations, then meet up with the crew on their last day of shooting.

- Yeah, but then you and I, we drive together to the locations where we have scenes together, and that's fun.

– Emmy: That's the best.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Although I did get to go with the whole crew for just one time this year, right?

And if I remember right, I think you got to drive, right?

- A little bit.

- Come on.

- For a while.

- Take a look.

John McGivern has done everything in this town, but this is Emmy Fink's first time on the Lake Express ferry.

– John: It's fun, it's scenic, it cuts the time in half.

– Emmy: In half.

- And this is the way to travel.

Get the skis out!

We're in the pilot house with the pilots.

Say hi to the pilots.

Hey, you guys.

How are you?

- Hello.

– John: Pilot.

- Good, welcome.

– John: What's your first-- - Captain Joe.

– John: Captain Joe.

- Captain Danny.

– John: Captain Danny.

Are there usually two pilots on?

- Yep.

– John: There are.

- Two licensed captains at all times.

- I'm not sure about this.

[laughs] - No, you're in the captain's chair.

- I know.

You know, I think you're the captain.

- You're at the helm.

I think this is-- - No, this is the co-host chair.

- Co-host.

[laughs] - Hello out there.

How are we doing?

- Hey, Emmy.

I mean, co-host.

Lake Express, here we go.

- Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The captains almost looked like our security guards, didn't they?

- Tom Cruise's brother, too.

- Oh, yeah, totally, totally.

That was my first time on the Lake Express.

I loved every second of it.

- We love Chicago, but you have to admit, cutting across the lake sure beats Chicago traffic.

- Any day, amen.

Of course, anyone can take the Lake Express, but not everybody gets to sit in the captain's chair.

You have to admit, you have the neatest job because this guy gets invited to do things no one else gets to do.

- I'm telling you, I've never been asked once for my driver's license.

And they're just like, "Oh, come on in and drive this very expensive machine."

I don't know if people just trust me, or maybe our producers just do a really good job of twisting arms.

- Yeah, I think it's that last one, yeah, the twisting.

- But I sure get invited to go places and do things.

Oh, come on.

So we always get to places people never get to, like up here.

We're on top of the courthouse, and this is the county seat of Wenatchee County, and we're on top.

Nobody ever gets up here.

[wood creaks] Yeah, that was my foot.

[Lois laughs] - Lois: Brian is wedged in there.

Gail is wedged in there.

And you're wedged in there.

- To start the day like this.

Look at this view.

– Lois: Yeah.

- I love it; I get everywhere, anywhere.

The top to the bottom at the state capitol in Illinois.

There I am.

She's like, "Go ahead, go to the top."

I'm like, "Are you kidding me?"

Pushing grain on the Mississippi on Lil Charley.

The only thing I didn't really like was that life preserver.

Does this, is this how it's supposed to look?

– Emmy: Oh, wow.

[John laughs] Is it a kid's?

– John: Oh, authorized personnel.

Go ahead, McGivern, it's fine.

Oh, testing farm equipment here.

What are they growing?

Here I am driving farm equipment, 1940s tractor.

It was so cool.

And here I'm bending glass, with the help of fire though, of course.

– Emmy: Oh.

– John: They let me do it all.

And here, they let us into the ice cream factory.

– Emmy: Ice cream?

– John: We're like, "More ice cream, please!"

And here come the buffalo.

– Emmy: Oh.

– John: An entire herd of buffalo.

Look at 'em.

– Emmy: How beautiful.

- Oh, it was.

– Emmy: Oh, he loves you.

- Give me a little scratch.

They're like, "What are you doing here?"

- Okay, you're not the biggest animal lover that I've ever met, but you sure look happy in those shots.

Is there anything you would say, "Nope, I'm not doing that, absolutely not?"

- Oh, yeah, for sure.

– Emmy: What?

- I get motion sickness.

So if somebody's like, "Oh, come on, you need to go on the rollercoaster," or, "Get in this little boat in the choppy lake," I'd be like, "No, I'm not doing it."

- You're just saying no.

- No, you're doing it.

- Yes!

And I would say, "Okay, yep."

- Good.

- Whatever keeps this show moving forward.

But you know, sometimes it's just not up to us, is it?

- That is so true.

We shoot in real places in real time, and that means that life is always going on around us.

And until you're trying to say something that a microphone will pick up clearly, you really don't realize how noisy real life is.

- And our audience, they don't realize how annoying that can be when we're interrupted, especially Gail.

She is our audio specialist.

She's in charge of making sure the show sounds just perfect.

Well, I love this next clip because the annoyance, well, it's written all over John and Brian's faces.

Let's take a look.

– Lois: Okay, this is very typical of our shoots.

You know what we're waiting for?

The bells to stop.

[bells ring] - They're just ringing, ring-ding-dinging.

– Lois: If it's not bells, it's a what?

- Lawnmower.

This guy is killing us.

– Emmy: We're gonna pack up.

- Oh, here comes another one!

[group laughs] - Lois: Yeah.

- Leaf blower.

- Leaf blower.

– Lois: A truck.

- Different spelling, a little different pronunciation, and a big truck.

Don't you just love them?

I don't know; this town's full of 'em.

- Motorcycle.

– Lois: Jets, ambulance.

- You guys-- - Oh, now we have to wait anyway.

– Brian: Yeah.

- Oh, hey, how are you?

[laughs] - A big group of students.

[laughs] - Lois, you realize that there's only so much you can control.

[all laugh] Do you know that?

If you didn't know, Lois loves for everything to be under control.

And to be fair, it's not always outside forces that are beyond our control.

- No, true.

Sometimes, we might be the ones that get a little bit out of control.

- The two of us.

Here.

- Maybe.

- Whoa, macaron, macarone.

– Lois: Roon.

- Macaroon.

[laughs] - Lois: Oh, no.

- Emmy, for a town that has such a strong... [Emmy laughs] - He was the defense attorney in the actual... [feet stomp] - John: Oh, that looks good.

– Emmy: I'm gonna tell you, it's not very good.

- 'Cause that's your trick.

That's how you do stuff.

- Oh, it's awful.

It's awful.

- It's awful.

You won't want any.

- Just leave this to me.

– Brian: Are you okay?

Oh, there it is!

There it is, yo!

We got it.

- Ah!

- And it has a tw... [grunts in frustration] - There's a story behind this.

- Here we go.

- Okay.

- Get Lois out of the shot.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

[John laughs] - John: Lois, are we disturbing your shopping?

- Eighteen inches.

Nine feet, 18 inches.

- So ten and a half feet.

– Lois: Eighteen inches.

- Oh, you wanna call it that way?

– Lois: Over a foot.

- Ten and a half feet.

- Ten and, oh, wow.

You Wisconsin people.

- He's the science guy?

[Lois laughs] - Style of scroll work, so the scrolls will all be-- [object clatters] - Group: Aw.

[group laughs] - And their focus has really been on education and tourism.

- Oh, and bugs!

Holy-- - Don't make me laugh.

[laughs] Don't do it.

Oh, there's a lot of laughs.

I love the laughs.

- That is really, it kinda makes us look bad though.

Lois!

Lois, why would you wanna show that?

- No, it's not about making you-- - We look bad.

- Yeah, Lois.

- No, it's about making you look real.

– John: Real.

- Nobody is laughing at you.

They're laughing with you.

[John laughs] - We just have to start laughing.

- We do, yeah.

- We all promise to make this show real and show production, how it truly is.

– John: Yeah.

- And the people have spoken.

They absolutely love the outtakes, so you know.

- They do, they do.

- They love it.

All right, but have we ever told John about what happened in, what was it, Lafayette?

- Did I ever tell you that?

- No.

- How could you not tell me?

We talk 83 times a day.

You didn't tell me something?

I'm shocked!

- Okay, wait.

You weren't there for this part, you weren't.

Okay, roll this video.

– John: Okay.

- We are in Lafayette, and we are at the high school, home of the Broncos.

And Officer Burton and Officer Fischer just came over because they were worried that Brian looked too suspicious to be on the school grounds.

He wasn't carrying the camera though.

They thought maybe, what, pest control?

- Or who knows what.

- Or something that is way worse than a pest control guy.

So we just wanna, we appreciate the badge.

We appreciate your service.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- We thank you for keeping these grounds safe.

Brian, figure it out and look real safer, would you?

- Get some lights or something maybe.

– Officer: Keep the camera on at all times.

– Lois: Keep the camera on at all times, we got it.

Thank you, officers.

[laughs] - Thank you.

Have a good day.

- Come on.

- I didn't tell you we almost got arrested, sorry.

[laughs] - That is hilarious.

I'm guessing that wasn't one of Brian's favorite days.

Brian, favorite?

- No.

- Oh, come on.

We were not gonna let you do any jail time in Lafayette.

We came to your rescue.

- Okay, speaking of favorites, people ask all the time, "What was your favorite thing this season?"

And we found that the answer differs depending on who you ask, but one thing we and the crew all love about the look of this show is the drone footage.

– Lois: Here it comes back again.

You can see it coming over the water.

Here, you can see it coming to us.

– Emmy: The best part about it is that bird's eye view, isn't it?

– John: Oh, yeah, it's great.

Yeah, I just love, I love all of this.

– Lois: I do, too.

- Did we introduce this season one?

- Mm-hmm.

- We did.

– Emmy: Look at those shots.

You just can't get 'em any other way.

– Lois: No.

– John: Marquette, Michigan.

I can see my house from here.

[laughs] - Lois: Okay, and then this happened.

– Emmy: Oh, no.

Oh.

– Lois: Whoops.

– Emmy: Oh, crash and burn.

– Lois: The good news is the drone's okay and the gazebo's okay, and the drone pilot's okay.

- Damn producers!

[group laughs] - Lois: It doesn't always go right, does it?

[laughs] - Emmy: No, no.

- And that wasn't even the worst of what happened to the drone this year, was it, Brian?

- No.

Oh no, again.

- Poor Brian.

Was it in Red Wing, Lois?

- Yes, Red Wing.

- When the drone actually disappeared.

- Like, not stolen, disappeared.

- Right.

- Not, like, out of the car.

Like, disappeared out of the sky.

We were over the Mississippi River, and one second, it was there, and the next second, it wasn't.

That was not our favorite day.

- No.

- But I do know your favorite.

In every city we go, Lois cannot pass up... A statue.

What?

– Lois: You kinda look like him.

There you go, you got the pose.

[laughs] - Am I interrupting anything?

You're little.

– Emmy: Oh, no!

– Lois: An appetizer!

- He seems very quiet to me.

- He's not giving away his secret.

- No.

It may be on his pad there, though.

- Yes, yes.

– Lois: So far, he looks comfortable.

Okay, now do you get how big it is?

- That's a big boy.

– Lois: Wow.

[laughs] That is the picture everybody takes when they come to Austin.

- Oh, yeah, the paint is worn away around here, so we're not the first to do it.

– Lois: No, we're certainly not.

– John: The kid needs to go back to school, and he looks like he needs a cigarette.

[group laughs] - That's what it looks like.

Am I really the only one that likes the statues?

Come on.

- I think she is.

Right?

- Yeah, I don't know.

- It's like the caption-writing contest.

You know how people look at a picture and say, "What is this," that's what it's like to me.

- Hey, you love them, which means we love them, right?

- Love 'em.

- Right, love 'em.

[Lois laughs] - Well, just because you don't like what I like, now I'm gonna show something you don't want me to show.

- Oh, boy.

- Really?

- Roll this.

This is their favorite.

- Oh, she's getting us back.

[upbeat music] - John: Oh.

– Emmy: Oh, those are so good.

– John: Oh, look at us eating.

– Emmy: Ugh.

– John: This is what people mention to me all the time too, how much I eat, is what they say.

We both eat a lot.

– Emmy: Oh, I'm so hungry now.

– John: Oh.

Remember-- - Emmy: Oh, those-- - John: Oh, that was that soda fountain place.

Wow.

– Emmy: Oh, that's the place in Waukesha, the calzones.

– John: Oh.

Okay, come on!

– Emmy: Oh, oh, the pie.

[John laughs] - John: SPAM!

– Emmy: And jerky.

Oh, the mayor's ribs.

– John: Yeah, mayor of Waukesha.

Good job.

– Emmy: I'll take any hot dog anytime.

– John: God, you got that whole thing in your mouth.

– Emmy: Yep, oh.

– John: Yeah.

– Emmy: The loaded fries.

That's like a smorgasbord right there.

- It's a carrot.

It's a vegetable.

– Emmy: Carrot.

Please.

Oh, look at that.

- Gorgeous food.

- Beautiful presentation.

- Gorgeous food all season.

- Oh, my gosh.

If people think that I just take one bite and stop, well, they just don't know me very well 'cause that never happens.

But you sometimes-- - Well, sometimes we have a bunch of interviews at food places, so I have to do that.

I have to take just a bite because I can't eat all day, even though I would love to eat all day.

- He could, which means it's no surprise that this next clip was John's favorite from season three.

- Yep.

[group laughs] - I always say, there's one troublemaker in the crowd.

- Bring the camera over here.

[group laughs] - And there's no judgment.

If it doesn't look perfect like we want it, it's okay.

It's gonna taste good.

- Give me yours and you take mine.

[group laughs] - A little bit bigger.

- Oh, bigger?

- You're gonna put these on the top of the cake.

– Pam: Tiny dice, like Diane has over here.

- Diane told me to do it thicker.

[group laughs] Can we get some more toffee?

– Pam: So this is referred to as the batonnet or the julienne cut.

I enjoy seeing people fall in love with cooking.

– John: Yeah.

– Pam: And then gathered around the table, the food and fellowship.

And by the end of the night, they're exchanging emails.

And that's what my hope was.

- Good job.

[group cheers] - Emmy: You looked like a king sitting at that table.

I love that.

- That was so nice.

And you and me, Emmy, we're just very different because your actual favorite thing was not food.

- No.

- Do you remember what it was?

- Yes.

– In unison: Dancing.

- There's a favorite day of the week here in Decorah.

Guess what it is?

It's Thursday nights because every Thursday night in the summer in Decorah, it's lawn chair night.

[crowd applauds] And tonight, it's the fabulous Nordic dancers.

[upbeat music] Tell me what you guys like most about being a Norwegian dancer.

– Dancer: When I'm out there, I'm having a blast.

And some of the dances, we do one called the oxen dance which is like a fake fight, kind of.

– Emmy: Ooh.

– Announcer: Dancers, when you find your new partners, please get into groups of four couples.

- A toast we raise, skl!

To heroes, brave and true!

[upbeat fiddle music] - Dancer: Everyone can be Scandinavian this weekend.

- That was fun; high five!

Oh.

I loved that one.

- That's really great.

- That was a real, that was like a core memory right there.

I loved that I got to dance, but I loved that Leona was there, my daughter.

She got to come out with me.

My mom and dad were in the crowd.

So much fun.

- Yeah.

Bloopers.

Can we talk about bloopers?

- They're everyone's favorite.

- Yeah.

They're our favorite.

– Emmy: They are.

- And no matter when people stop, they say, "You know what we love?

We love those bloopers."

- Mm-hmm.

- So we can't do a clip show without your favorite clips, bloopers.

- Two and a half hours.

- That was so quick.

- Yeah.

I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom.

[group laughs] - And apparently, a winger is a purple version of the Minnesota Eagle.

But we're not talking football-- - Lois: Minnesota Eagle?

[group laughs] What the hell is a Minnesota Eagle?

You too.

As long as you turn your face that way a little bit.

How about that?

It helps a little.

- So Clara Lillybell, this is a tribute to her.

And who was she?

- Clara Lillyblad was-- - Lillyblad?

- Yeah.

[group laughs] - Lois: Clara Bell, now you did it to yourself.

- Clara Bell.

Lilly, ooh.

– Lois: Lillyblad.

- I don't think we need to talk about her.

[Emmy mumbles] [Lois laughs] - Lois: That was perfect!

- You guys, try this.

– Lois: That was really perfect.

- It's so, so fricking fantastic.

[Lois laughs] - Were you thinking I was thinking about it?

- I was not thinking you were thinking about it.

- I love mussels though.

- Me too.

And oysters, yum!

[John laughs] Let's see, let's look up a seafood place.

- Can we go... [laughs] Can we go there?

[John and Emmy laugh] Let's go look up the seafood place.

Let's get outta here!

- These are four different animals' poops.

- Yeah.

- Let's see if we can figure it out.

- They would need a bigger base for mine.

[group laughs] - Too much.

Yeah, you missed out.

See ya!

[group laughs] Oh, my God.

– Lois: Oh, Emmy.

Remember, this is all cold open.

– Brian: Oh, okay.

– Lois: So we have to just, we gotta do just a little move.

- What are you doing?

Oh, Jesus [beep] Christ.

[Lois laughs] You weren't gonna... [laughs] And they are Ralph Lauren.

- Mm-hmm.

Oh, my God.

Oh, no, they're prescription.

[group laughs] Oh, my God!

I'm like-- - You can't see out of those?

- I can see better!

What is in here?

A lemon?

– Server: Yeah, yeah.

- Okay, well, you could have told me.

[laughs] - Server: It's a lemonade.

- Oh, my gosh, this is great.

- It's a lemonade.

That's all; good to know.

Now, I'll approach it differently.

This house, this neighborhood, amazing.

[group laughs] [thump] Ooh.

Oh, okay.

[group laughs] Emmy, what'd you think of Clipsville?

- Oh, I loved it.

I would move here in a second.

You?

- Are we ready to go though?

Do you need a ride home?

- I do need a ride, yeah.

- Do you live near Clipsville?

- I think I live that way.

- Hey, can we roll that neighborhood, please?

[John laughs] There we go.

Do you live close to here?

- Oh, goodness.

Yep, find the prettiest house and drop me off there.

- Why did we just put our seatbelt on?

Here we go.

- Because, I don't wanna get pulled over from the Clipsville police.

- Oh.

- So pretty.

- Wait for us, wait for us!

- Everybody in!

[John laughs] Everybody, Aaron!

Let's go, everybody!

- We're gonna fit, you guys!

[group laughs] - I have room!

– Announcer: Thanks to our underwriters.

- Wisconsin's picture-perfect historic downtown Greendale isn't just a great backdrop for photos.

It's the perfect place to experience history, get a treat for your furry friends or for yourself, grab some ice cream, or a treat of a different kind, or slow down and relax.

Ask anyone who's made memories here.

We'll all tell you the same thing.

You just gotta see Greendale!

- At We Energies, we believe communities are stronger when we all work together.

For more than 40 years, the We Energies Foundation has supported charitable organizations across Wisconsin.

Together, we're creating a brighter future.

- My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way.

O&H Danish Bakery, where Kringle traditions begin.

- Heiser Automotive is honored to help John McGivern and his team arrive safely to many Main Streets.

We are committed to remaining true to the Heiser way: Do what's right for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve.

We are happy to help.

- From the Green Circle Trail to Point Brewery, you'll find more fun in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

- Looking to bring life to your Wisconsin Dells getaway?

Bring your family, bring your friends, bring an extra suit, and bring on the water parks.

Summer in Wisconsin Dells, bring it on!

Wisconsin Dells, the waterpark capital of the world, WisDells.com.

- Twenty-minute commutes, weekends on the lake, warm welcomes, and exciting career opportunities.

Not to mention all the local flavor!

There's a lot to look forward to in Wisconsin.

Learn more at InWisconsin.com.

– Announcer: Thanks to the Friends of Plum Media and to the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

– Lois: I won't get any bugs in my mouth.

I'm protected.

Bye, everybody!

Very good, very good.

Now it's a clown car.

Everybody out.

[laughs] - John: Well, that was fun.