Episode 66 — Cop Donkey

[Episode 66 — Cop Donkey]

The contagious laughter that essentially kills the scene after Eugene Cordero suggests that the woman he was trying to pick up had momentarily just "turned into a dragon" filled me with so much joy that -- even now thinking about it hours later -- I'm still smiling.

[Episode 114 — Surfing Rainbows]

Only a fool would try to argue with noted Islamic Studies scholar Steve-O's analysis of what does or does not constitute a proper Muslim burial.

[Episode 199 — Garry Unmarried]

I hope that the audible.com people were hoping for Scott's rendition of their ad copy to feature a pervasive tone of menace, because that is exactly what they got.

[Episode 198 — Aren't You Glad]

Amy Phillips' Sarah Silverman "character" was pretty spectacular. Does this mark the first time that a performer has done an extended impression of someone who actually appears on the podcast in real life?

 

Hopefully this is all just paving the way for a triumphant Paul F. Tompkins (as John C. Reilly) and John C. Reilly (as John C. Reilly) episode of Comedy Bang Bang. It's not outside the realm of possibility, right?

 

Right?

[I tried to poison myself with hemlock last night, but apparently it didn't take.]

Welcome to Comedy Bang Bang.

[Episode 65 — Computer Strength]

That ad for the Earwolf store -- where the ad copy is abandoned and the group eventually comes to a consensus that Earwolf calendars are overpriced and unnecessary -- is probably the greatest advertisement in the history of ad-sponsored entertainment.

[Episode 64 — Blowjob Accident]

Good stuff, best improv in the world/universe!

 

I'll grant you that this is the best improv on Earth, but I hear that there are some pretty fantastic improvisers in the Triangulum Galaxy.

[Episode 54 — The Odd Life of Timothy Green]

This was a wonderful episode. It was very interesting to listen to a thoughtful discussion regarding the relative merits of this movie. There have been a few episodes in the past where it seemed to be generally agreed upon that the movie under consideration crossed over into "bad movie" territory, but did so in a self-conscious (even thoughtful) way that ultimately made it enjoyable to watch (e.g. Fast 5, Crank 2, certain aspects of Drive Angry, etc.). But, this seems like the first film that was actually trying to be a "good movie" that seems to have -- arguably -- succeeded in doing so. At least, according to some. Anyway, great show.

[Episode 110.5 — 1/11/13 TWO CHARTED 49]

But if you are going to do it, at least have the decency to invite Chris Gore back for it. I'm sure he'd dig it.

 

I feel pretty confident that Chris Gore would be the ideal choice to host this special edition of Two Charted.

[Episode 193 — What Else? What Else?]

The obvious way to resolve this whole issue is to bring Adam Carolla and Janeane Garofalo onto the show together and have a Crossfire-style, point-counter-point debate on the subject of latent (or even outright overt) sexism in character-based comedy. That's the sort of thing that Comedy Bang Bang usually does, right?

 

Oh, wait. Nevermind.

[Episode 62 — Presidential Marriage Proposal]

This was a great grouping of guests. Matt Walsh is always solid (in fact, I think that he's been so reliably good for so long that at this point his talent level may be under-rated, as people have simply grown accustomed to his excellence). I'm not as familiar with Jon Gabrus, but I enjoyed his work here quite a bit. Finally, between her appearances on Improv4Humans and Comedy Bang Bang in the past year, Lauren Lapkus has emerged as one of my absolute favorite comedy podcast guests -- she strikes me as a gifted, versatile, and very funny improviser with a winsome personality. Wonderful show.

[Episode 193 — What Else? What Else?]

I know that I, for one, am always making aspirations about Scott's level of poverty.

[Episode 110 — Single Guy Vibe]

It is telling, I think, that Kulap is so accustomed to Howard's malapropisms and idiosyncratic vocabulary usages that when he used a word (with which she was apparently not familiar) like "vagaries" correctly, her first instinct was to suspect that he was saying something either bizarre or incorrect.

[Episode 51 — Liz and Dick]

I enjoyed listening to this, but I couldn't help but be bothered by a lingering sense that this episode will come off as being in pretty poor taste in another few months if and when Lindsay Lohan is no longer among the living. Maybe this is not likely, but it's certainly not unlikely.

[Episode 104 — Hardwickipedia]

I realize that this may not be a popular opinion, but I really hate Chris Hardwick and I find it difficult to listen to him speak.

[Episode 188 — Attack of the Shits]

Along with Andy Daly, there is probably no better predictor for podcast hilarity than the presence of Jessica St. Clair.

[Guest suggestions]

Greg Proops... actually I am morbidly curious how anyone known from Whose Line (US or British incarnations! what's Mike McShane up to these days?) does in a long-form improv setting.

 

I know that Ryan Stiles has a fair amount of experience with long-form improv. He's said that that's actually what he prefers to do at his own theater up in Washington (I'm not sure how much time he spends in LA these days). Say what you will about the trivial silliness of Whose Line style improv "games," that guy is undeniably talented.

[Episode 55 — Pussy Snacks]

And, inevitably, during the recording studio scene, it was Lauren Lapkus who requested a rendition of "The Backdoor Song." If history has taught us anything....

[Episode 187 — Finger Chimes]

Call me crazy, but upon hearing Scott and company discuss Ralph (actually Rowlf) the Muppet at length and pronounce him a "bear," I had a hard time not emphatically saying "he's a dog" out loud, as if my important message could somehow get through to them by magically passing through the barriers of space and time.

[Episode 186 — New York Mainstays]

When "nothing gold can stay" came up in Garry Marshall's Sphinx-like riddle, I had a sudden and vivid flashback to Middle School English class.

[Episode 184 — Pop and Politics]

Maybe I'm just some kind of a moron, but that Perry Farrell thing really blew my mind.

[Episode 180 — Friends Without Words]

As a fan of Improv4Humans, I was kinda hoping that Lauren Lapkus' character would turn out to be obsessed with awkwardly inserting "ass play" into the conversation.

[Episode 141 — Personality Kingpin!]

The Earwolf drop didn't play at the end of this episode and I became worried that the show was no longer on the network.

 

This seems likely to be true. I don't know of any other Earwolf podcasts that have launched autonomous websites where they market their own merchandise and hype their own spin-off podcasts. It's probably also not a good sign that (as far as I can tell) the new TotallyLaime.com website doesn't even seem to contain a link back to Earwolf. For some reason this separation -- if there is indeed a separation underway -- makes me sad.

[Episode 116 — The Sweet’n Low Spot]

First Adam Carolla, now Greg Fitzsimmons...this trend can only possibly end with the eventual guest booking of Danny Bonaduce.

[Episode 176 — Out of Bleeps]

It's pretty amazing how Amy Poehler can perform a comedic free-style rap that is both genuinely funny and also half-way credible in terms of internal logic and rhyme-scheme. Who knew that she had an inner Wayne Brady lurking inside of her?