168 replies to this topic

[Earwolf Admin]

After ten weeks of competition, we're finally ready to declare a winner! First, a few words of thanks: Thank you to all ten of our podcasts competitors, as well as each and every podcast who gave "Project Tippy Toe" a chance. Thank you to all of our talented guest judges, each of whom played an important part in finding Earwolf's next great podcast. Thank you to Frank and Peter, Jeff and Scott, and of course Matt Besser for putting their blood, sweat and tears into this project. And lastly, thank you to each of you who have listened to The Challenge, blogged and tweeted about it, and participated in the forums. Thank you all, and congratulations to our big winner (I'm not going to go and spoil it!).

[Foam Corner]

Must resist urge to fast forward to see who won.

[Scott Aukerman]

All right, have at it! Spoilers ahead!
.
No restrictions on posting more than once, but be warned- expressing elation or outrage at the outcome is great; but excessive posting or arguing, starting an account just to say we or one of the shows sucks, and in general, just being a jerk will get you banned.
.
Be human beings! Enjoy! Discuss! Let's do this!

[Anonymous Coward]

Given the above, I'll just stick to the facts. The podcasting network from Los Angeles picked the podcast from Los Angeles. At least Elizabeth wont have to worry about her neighbor scraping ice off the window or whatever that was anymore.

[Bucho]

I'd like to echo, with significantly less weight obviously, everything Scottabot said about Matt Besser being a superduperuberentertaining AND educational host.
 
YES, his loosey goosey Socratesey style hasn't always meant the judging discussion was 100% clear on every episode, but also YES I don't really care just because all-in-all he's an hilarious genius. Not that a buffoon like me bestowing the "genius" tag means a damn thing, but Hot Saucerman said it too in a manner of speaking so it must be true.
 
In the Suggestion thread I mouthed off saying that doubling the regular judges and having Matt play kind of a "colour commentary" role rather than "anchor host" could be an improvement but that wasn't because I didn't enjoy Besser as anchor, it was because he'd said he didn't enjoy playing that role and I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HIM.
 
There. I said it.
 
Also, hearty congrats to TOTALLY LAIME and I hope you two set the podcasting world alight from your new, awesome platform right here at Earwolf. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!!!

[Peter Dell]

So obvious you guys didn't want to pay for those airline tickets.

[Foam Corner]

Crap. :(
That was like a punch in the stomach. I'm genuinely sad right now. Never thought I'd feel this way about a podcast. Well done, Earwolf Challenge. (For making me care so much, which proves this is a great idea for a podcast.) I'm sure I'd feel differently had the decision gone the other way, but how can you not judge the two contestants on their overall performance at this point? You should take into account all of their strengths and weaknesses. How have they grown and improved throughout the competition? Granted, you'd still probably pick Totally Laime anyway, because they're a "better fit," but why should it be based solely on this week's submission? That hasn't always been the case from week to week, so why now? A slightly better submission in the final week doesn't negate all of the weak submissions from the past.
-
And why is Totally Laime a better fit anyway? How is a podcast from a different continent not a better fit? Every week we are introduced to new comedians with TLDDC, whereas Totally Laime has the same guests we can find on every other podcast. Not to mention you'd also be gaining new fans from that lovely continent.
I love you guys, but I'm a sad panda.
Congrats to Totally Laime. I won't take it out on you. I'll subscribe to your podcast. Earwolf for life.

[Sly Sanders]

I don't wanna be a dick - especially when Matt has spent AT LEAST two episodes complaining about the dicks on the forums - but man; when you listen to ALL these episodes and the podcast you never liked won, it really feels like weeks have been wasted.

I will not be listening to Totally Laime ever.

Sorry Dum Dum Club:( You guys were better. I have no idea what the judges and the Earwolf people ever saw in Totally Laime, or ever KEPT seeing in it.

[Robin]

Well I have no intention of listening to Totally Laime, but at least I discovered Left-handed Radio and F Plus so the challenge wasn't too much of a waste of time.
-
Congrats to Totally Laime, though.

[GW]

I think Totally Laime is a good fit for this network, but I think Little Dum Dum Club was a better podcast.

LDDC kind of reminds me of Stop Podcasting Yourself from the Max Fun network. Both are comedian gab-fests that highlight comedians outside of the LA alt-comedy scene. If Jesse Thorn wants to conquer the entire English-speaking world, then he'd be smart to add LDDC to his roster. He doesn't seem to have a problem signing geographically disperse podcasts and he seems to have an appreciation for the diversity of comedic voices. HEY JESSE THORN! LOOK AT THIS!

[ZachB]

Man I didn't realize how invested i had gotten, my heart was kinda picking up waiting for Scott's decision, and I felt like i lost when LDDC lost :(. Even though i have enjoyed LDDC the most out of all of the others in the competition (no offense to the others) but in there submission this week I did catch myself completely zoning out to a point where i actually had to rewind it a bit to catch what i missed >_<. I wasn't sure if it was because I was tired or in a zoning out mood but the judges also shared that same thought. When I listened to totally lame while they weren't as funny or had as good as riffs I never zoned out or felt bored and genuinely got invested in some of the stories they were getting into. Totally Lame is a great podcast hosted by professionals and will undoubtedly make a great addition to earwolf. On a Total side note wtf is with the name earwolf.

[Linus]

Congratulations to Totally Laime.
Got to echo the sentiments of others here, this kind of felt like a foregone conclusion. No conspiracy theory here, just the sentiment that's been felt on the boards for the last few weeks. Not sure why Scott was so insistent that their decision wasn't influenced by who was a more convenient fit? I don't think anyone would have been particularly upset if it had been.
 
Was good to see the upfront statement this week that the criteria was solely about personal preference. The lack of clarity in previous episodes has often been frustrating, so glad to see that issue addressed.
 
Got to say, the best part of this episode was the retrospective. Informative and entertaining. Looking forward to the follow up show!

[Brian Zeolla]

I bought a little new years eve confetti popper thing for this, and in retrospect, I realize it is kind of a sad image. It's a sad day for me, not because my choice did not win, but because the earwolf challenge is complete. I was not vested in either of these shows, my pick already fell out, so I went into this episode excited for either win. They are both funny shows, and I think either would fit in well. I think the judgement was great, Jeff and Scott knew what they wanted, and they explained it well. It was a great listen, and I was excited for a two hour episode... because what else do I have to do. So, I am behind the decision 100 percent, and I am looking forward to hearing the wolf dead after prince songs.
-
I want to say, in regard to the Earwolf Challenge, and I think this has been mirrored before on the forums. There is no podcast that has made me listen right as it downloads into my itunes. I save most shows for when I am at work, because it is ten hours of standing in one place, and then is when i can best focus on my favorite shows. With EWC though, the moment I would get home at 3 in morning, 3 days a week, I would jump right in, especially on judgement days. You really get wrapped up in the whole thing, whether your horse is still in the race or not. I want to thank Frank, Peter and Matt for building up the fun, tension and drama. They did a great job mapping out new territory, and really succeeded. I think if any of them read these forums, their spirits might be dragged through the dirt every now and then, but I wholeheartedly think they really did the work and it shows. So to anyone who trashes this show, Totally Laime or any of the other shows who competed, please start linking to your podcasts so they can be held up to the same microscope, maybe they will be candidates for the second season of the Earwold Challenge
-
Also, Matt, you killed me with the long distance relationship line. I had to grab another confetti popper

[JoshuaDRazo]

I'm glad to see that both Jeff and I have called 670 the score to complain about our respective favorite baseball teams.

[Mark Thompson]

You know, if you had just said from the beginning that the goal was to find the most vapid, disposable podcast imaginable, you could have avoided all of the vitriol on this forum over these last ten weeks.

The best part about today is that I will never have to listen to Totally Laime ever again.

[ragnar]

Great episode! Except for Jeff's horrifying Chicago accent, of course.

[Naylor]

Thanks for this series guys, I've got really invested in it, so thanks for all the work, time and effort that's been put into it, I can't wait for season 2.
This was a really cool way to end the show, loved the discussion and analysis of the tournament and why certain decisions were made, that was all really interesting to listen to. I've been critical in this forum at times, but that answered a lot of the problems I had.
-
I'm disappointed with how things have ended up, I really strongly disagree with Scott and Jeff's decision but their discussion was so thoughtful and in-depth that I can't really argue with it, I don't doubt for a second that you both objectively enjoyed it more.
-
So congrats to all the podcasts that took part, well done Totally Laime.

[Caroline Anderson]

Congratulations to Totally Laime! Goodbye to Earwolf Challenge Season One!
-
I had a somewhat unique experience with this show because not only am I a GIANT podcasting nerd, but the results directly affect my life as a member of the Earwolf team. In order to do my work, I would get all 3 of the week's shows at once, usually around midnight on Saturday, and I listened to all three immediately no matter what. I've been super invested and have listened to AT LEAST one full episode of each podcast since The Challenge began (I listened to every episode of Left Handed Radio this weekend during a long car trip!).
-
We were having a business call pretty soon before The Challenge started, and I asked Frank if there were any women competing. When he told me Totally Laime was in it, I squealed. I think I might have said "Okay, cool" but what I meant was "ARE YOU KIDDING!?!?!?! I LOVE TOTALLY LAIME!!!! IT BETTER WIN!!!!" Totally Laime is one of the first podcasts I listen to every Monday (which is saying something, because a LOT of good podcasts come out on Mondays) and I genuinely feel it is a special show that a lot of people will truly come to love.
-
So, congratulations Totally Laime. I'm so pumped for you to be on Earwolf. The Little Dum Dum Club: You have a subscriber in me, and from the looks of it, many other listeners. Best of luck to Tommy when he does Comedy Bang Bang at UCB. I would NOT have been upset to see you guys win. Eat some Tim Tams for me (I exhausted my list of Australian references a long time ago). You guys are true dickheads (am I using that term correctly?).
-
Lastly, as everyone else has said, thanks SO much to Matt Besser. Do you guys realize that we've gotten a 3 hour comedy class from one of the "founder-ers" of UCB every single week?!??? It's been amazing, and I'm already having withdrawal.

[A Plonk]

For the first twenty minutes, Scott humbled Matt. Come on Besser, your qualifications are better than his.

Season five and six of The Simpsons were the best years. Run by David Mirkin, who worked on Get a Life with Bob Odenkirk, who gave Scott his only real job. Also blah blah blah.

[Naylor]

The topic of when The Simpsons declined (season 9 when Mike Scully became showrunner) is a topic very close to my heart and I would have liked to have discussed this in more depth with Scott.

Although I can see why someone would think season 5/6 was the point of the decline, because the style and tone of the show changed at the point, some might say for the better, others not.

Also, the internet did already kind of exists in the form of newsgroups, and there were people ranting about the quality of the show then, which led to the "Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show" episode.

Anyway as you were.