GhaleonQ

Todd Zuniga's amazing by his lonesome, but it's awesome that literature has him as an ambassadors. Day-and-date, day-and-date, et cetera.

*followed Totally Laime and The Little Dum Dum Club since they began, will now listen to Left-Handed Radio* Whatever the critiques of the challenge (good and bad), I think everyone involved would do well to avoid accusations of bad faith. I find it weird that a segment of the judges/forum people haven't been on board with Totally Laime at all, but I understand why. I feel like bringing a grin over an entire segment is a lot more important than getting 1 or 2 pops, as I'd rather be consistently entertained for an hour than have 8 really great moments connected by lulls. People who feel differently aren't imbeciles, just looking for something different. I felt like the sketch group could have made 2 or 3 better, obvious choices (even within the constraints), and the judges weren't that harsh. The judges sided tonally with Totally Laime this week when they haven't in others. There was no conspiracy, no idiocy, no injustice. The decision was transparent. Geez, guys. (That said, Matt, who's done really well, should remind judges to react as judges and not as their comic selves. It's obvious that the most vocal people prefer sober assessment to comedy in the judge portions.)

*followed Totally Laime and The Little Dum Dum Club since they began, will now listen to Left-Handed Radio* Whatever the critiques of the challenge (good and bad), I think everyone involved would do well to avoid accusations of bad faith. I find it weird that a segment of the judges/forum people haven't been on board with Totally Laime at all, but I understand why. I feel like bringing a grin over an entire segment is a lot more important than getting 1 or 2 pops, as I'd rather be consistently entertained for an hour than have 8 really great moments connected by lulls. People who feel differently aren't imbeciles, just looking for something different. I felt like the sketch group could have made 2 or 3 better, obvious choices (even within the constraints), and the judges weren't that harsh. The judges sided tonally with Totally Laime this week when they haven't in others. There was no conspiracy, no idiocy, no injustice. The decision was transparent. Geez, guys. (That said, Matt, who's done really well, should remind judges to react as judges and not as their comic selves. It's obvious that the most vocal people prefer sober assessment to comedy in the judge portions.)

I don't want to jump the gun or move off the string of discussion, but Mark ran onto something. Have you thought about how to avoid an anticlimactic ending? I think Besser and the rest have set the right tone, that this has important benefits and is worth taking seriously but isn't an immediate 6-digit cut check or potential career-ender. However, if the show ends with 3 people self-consciously, half-heartedly whooping it up before ending a conference call, it would be unfortunate. I don't know how much time the Earwolf staff has or if the following is a good idea, but I like it. The final decision could be made in the morning and the last 2 could set aside time later in the day. Matt could travel to/call the winners afterward to catch a contemporaneous reaction, go over the highs and lows of their time in the contest, suggest some episodes for new listeners, brainstorm how they might alter the show for Earwolf, and then go into a standard 1/2 episode of whatever their show does. It would certainly top a fizzle out, 2-week gap, and sudden appearance on the front page.

Since I'm now genuinely unsure whether Matt thinks the Challenge is hugely flawed and that he is a horrible human being, I'll register to say that I'm definitely entertained. I don't know why he had trouble grasping a couple of the podcasts' purposes in the 1st week, but he's become a much more able host since. He's playing off the cohosts, judges, and contestants well by maintaing forward momentum (Notaro made it difficult, even if she was funny) and I agree that his coaching this episode was his best. IF YOU NEED YOUR STELLAR CAREER VALIDATED BY PSEUDONYMOUS INTERNET POSTS, YOU HAVE THEM, BESSER. That said, once the last 2 or 3 are left, there really ought to be longer challenges. I caught Totally Laime and The Little Dum Dum Club early in their lifespans and stayed with them because they're great at getting out of lulls without being desperate about it. Once time isn't a constraint, you'll want to make sure people want to hear 30-minute-or-more shows from these people instead of YouTube-sized clips. I'm sure that's been discussed, but just in case...