KajusX

Oh man, that info is right at your ears' fingertips! Gourley mentions her once in a while on all of his podcast projects where he's not strictly doing a character. Pistol Shrimps Radio (Amanda 'Fun Buns' Lund is a teammate), I Was There Too (pretty sure he's mentioned her on there), and James Bonding for sure. In fact, if you want to have a good time, you should check out James Bonding ep #006: Casino Royale, wherein Matt Gourley and Matt Mira have on the Ghost Girls Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci to discuss Matt's favourite (British spelling) Bond film. It's really fun. Amanda REALLY likes Casino Royale. They return for episode 019: License to Kill. P.S. 'lucky, lucky man'? More like lucky, lucky lady. He's a SPICY PEPPER on Rate My Professor.

Oh, also, I forgot to post this earlier, from the picklesandwine.tumblr: "Rafi gifs: VERY popular on the web. Lots of gifs of me sitting naked on toilets eating hot dogs."

Ok, Scott as a Ghostbuster needs to stay. That's great. C+.

Yes AND uh, C+, and, and, uh, I have a stray observation which is that I liked how Nick reinforced the presence of the Mailer Daemon in non-MD portions of the show by occasionally letting out a foreboding, evil laugh.

Oh yes! Good call. I couldn't remember if any interview guests had participated in studio, but I definitely remembered Colin jumping in during that convention story at Largo.

All previous guests except for Colin Hanks, you mean?

Sorry I keep monopolizing the comment thread, but I forgot to mention a thought I had a while ago-- One thing I love about this episode is that it's a stellar third entry in the Heynong Man saga. The first episode was about Scott and Jason delighting in a hilarious nonsense phrase, and then, joined by Mike the Janitor, taking Heynong Man for a huge spin wherein they devised a 'safe space' relationship with the phrase, empowering it to reset the proceedings and return the gang back to a place of security and comfort when each participant agreed to use it. The second episode with Joe Bongo was where Jason was extremely wary of Scott's silly turns of phrase he was attempting to crowbar into Heynong Man. Jason shot down attempt after attempt made by Scott to make goofy variations because in doing so the phrase would lose its power. Then this episode turns those concerns on its ear by basically introducing the chaotic force that is The Mailer Daemon. Kroll, who was chastised by Jason at the start of the episode when he got the phrase wrong, latches onto what is at its core an inside joke between Scott, Jason and the listener, and proceeds to abstract the phrase into oblivion. He creates permutation on top of permutation, and in doing so weaves a narrative (with the yes and'ing of Scott and Jason) wherein the co-creators of Heynong Man don't realize they can no longer return to their safe space due to the twisting and obfuscating of their 'safe phrase.' Scott and Jason continue to try and use the phrase to reset, but it's like jamming on a red button with the wires cut. While they suspect there are no wires attached, they never have enough time to check. The Mailer Daemon has seen to that, demolishing all safe spaces. Scott and Jason couldn't even save Nick with a reset after the Mailer Daemon shot him when he tried to warn them that they weren't saying the phrase correctly— "That's not what it is!"— which Nick would remember as important to Scott and Jason, having been reprimanded at the start of the show for his incorrect usage. Live Taylor then shows up as an authoritative figure who represents himself as someone with all of the answers who can fix their problem, but by the time he runs away and hits the wall after declaring success when he has Scott and Jason attempt a reset (again, giving them the wrong phrase), then angrily, sarcastically repeating 'Fuck Compton Man' and 'Hey Compton Man' over and over while angrily locking eyes, the message is clear-- in the reality of the show, Nick, Scott and Jason are at the mercy of Kroll's reality-bending Mailer Daemon, their precious phrase has been irreparably de-powered, and none of the 'helpful' characters Scott and Jason decide to trust are actually helpful. They're all working for the Mailer Daemon, i.e., Kroll. Besides that moment of Live Taylor's exit being side-splittingly funny (So funny; So, so funny!), I also thought it was almost a sly, winking move on Nick's part. "Screw you guys for jumping down my throat for not using your precious inside-joke-y, nonsense phrase correctly." All of Jason's worst fears from the second installment were laid bare in this episode— Heynong Man was robbed of all of its power and was relentlessly turned into shades upon shades of gibberish— and Jason himself was laid bare when he played a part in his own dissection as Jeffrey Character-Wheaties, revealing himself to be nothing more than a grotesque commentary of a man; a brash and perverted sex fiend, but possessing quirky-yet-somewhat-relatable weaknesses such as an egg allergy, or obsessive-compulsive tendencies expressed through hypochondriacal behaviors such as strictly wearing white oxford shirts so that visual proof of disinfection is apparent whenever they are treated with bleach. (Other than the egg allergy, I have NO idea if any of this is remotely true; but what's important to the enjoyment of the show is that Jason the person is comfortable with these kinds of jokes at his expense) In the context of the episode, it was a HUGE payoff to Jason's worst nightmares from the second installment, and in the context of entertainment, they successfully got to swing 'Heynong Man' around like a bullroarer in a small garage, just smashing it into random shit, eventually fracturing it, shattering it, and watching its pieces clatter out onto the driveway, instead of finding solace in its hum when used correctly. Then all was made right in the one moment they weren't concerned with resetting the Mailer Daemon's wrongs. The Mailer Daemon's chaotic machinations were completely sidelined when Character-Wheaties eclipsed all of it by becoming Jason again through the use of sexually graphic in-phrases, prompting Scott— wishing to rein in Jason the only way he knows how— to instinctually scrounge up a "Heynong Man." What I'm saying is Jason saved them all by talkin' 'tang. Such a good episode. EDIT: I also love that The Mailer Daemon is summoned after his name is said a set number of times (guessed as eight times by Scott; in reality they said it 13 times), much like Beetlejuice, except to summon Beetlejuice his name must be said three times. What else must be said three times? HEYNONG MAN.

JASON: You know what? One of the best things that's ever happened is that we did that show based on the mats on the floor here in the studio. The hay dog mats. SCOTT: The hay dog mats, yeah. JASON: They're dog mats made of hay. NICK: Ohhhh god... JASON: Nick?! SCOTT: Nick, you're back! NICK: I'm back, I'm back, I'm back! JASON: Hay dog mats! SCOTT: Hay dog mats! NICK: ?... hUNH?! SCOTT: Hay dog mats. JASON: Hay dog mats. NICK: That's not what it is! JASON: What do you mean? BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! JASON: Oh no! Mailer Daemon just shot Nick Kroll! SCOTT: Why?! If he has the powers of demons?! NICK: yuuhhhhh SCOTT: Where'd he shoot you? Nick?! NICK: D-D-Don't believe him... JASON: Nick! Tell us- SCOTT: Hay dog mats! We gotta reset! Hay dog mats! JASON: Hay dog mats! NICK: Don't believe the hype... JASON: 'Don't believe the hype'? NICK: Don't believe the hype! JASON: Great song, man. SCOTT: 'Voting Public Enemy'? JASON: Public Enemy! SCOTT: 'Elvis was a hero to most!' NICK: Don't believe the hype! JASON: 'They never done shit for me!' SCOTT: 'Straight out racist!' NICK: Everything... It's... It's Compton that's popular, NOT EAST COAST RAP!! SCOTT: Compt-? Wait- what's 'Compton'? JASON: Hmm SCOTT: What's MAILER DAEMON: HEY COMPTON MAN! SCOTT: Hey Compton man! JASON: Hey Compton man! SCOTT: That's what it is, right? JASON: I think so. SCOTT: I guess I forgot it. It's 'Hey Compton Man.' JASON: Hey... yeah... SCOTT: Straight out of Compton, man! JASON: Straight out of Compton, man. SCOTT: 'Straight out of Compton, man.' That's what it is. JASON: That's what it is. SCOTT: Alright, well let's reset—

Well, apologies, haha. I felt like transcribing these two instances of Nick clawing his way out of his phone prison so now I'm posting them. NICK: What did I miss? What're you guys talking about? SCOTT: We just ate each others' pubes. JASON: We just ate each others' pubes on a bagel. NICK: Andthenyou're-now you're talking about sprouts? JASON: Yeah. SCOTT: Yeah, pretty much. NICK: Awe, fuck this. JASON: You're going back in?!

Fun fact: It actually took 13 utterances of 'Mailer Daemon' for him to appear. Spine-chilling, especially because he knocked IMMEDIATELY after the 13th utterance.

Great cameo by the Juice Bar Genie as 'Claude' in Steve the American Baker's first commercial. lol

P.S. Btw, for anyone looking to make some photoshopped Jeffrey Characterwheaties materials, I believe that with the description of the photo being black and white with a clean-shaven Mantzoukas, they are probably referring to the image used on the Earwolf (and UCB's and FunnyOrDie's) sites. It is the only black and white, clean shaven headshot of young Jason circulating the web, to the best of my binging abilities.

That's why I love Too Much Tuna Tour so much. Recently, I kept thinking about how I was crying laughing during the first segment of that episode due to Nick's antics (as himself). So a week ago I downloaded the episode again, and whenever I've cleared my subscription queue of new podcast eps, I've re-listened to that ep with its powerhouse first segment with Nick and Scott, and the second being George and Gil back and in great form, and the reason why that whole episode is great is exactly what you just said: The whole thing is based on throwaway lines. Too Much Tuna Tour is more structured in that Nick and John stay in character as Gil and George, but their WHOLE DEAL is casting out throwaway lines and then seeing where it takes them. Hump Week! as a concept and Nick's delivery of that line is so good, and Punch Luke Lupus ("my parents are huge Sandler fans- the serious stuff only") and Milk Voice with his "longtime caller first time listener" questions about Ruxon and The League are so funny. It's just bits on bits on bits and they're cast away to make room for whatever's coming next. EVERYTHING is up for grabs. Even Scott's and Nick's opening conversation about Kroll Show Season 3 was teeming with throwaway gems. SCOTT: "You knew you were done-zo, but you thought it'd be fun-zo." NICK: "Yeah, exactly, you know, you have such a way with putting Z-O's at the end of words." SCOTT: "Mine's a true hybrid." NICK: "Oh is it?" SCOTT: "You know, like a car hybrid where you're going back and forth from electricity to gas?" NICK: "Uh huh. Uh huh. Running on fumes?" I love that first segment so MUCH. Then of course Mulaney and Kroll are unstoppable as George and Gil. I can't heap high enough praise on their stream-of-consciousness improvisations that are very much in the same vein as Kroll's riffing in the first segment. They go for a funny concept or talking point, then springboard off it over and over again. Like Koch coming out to them, not as a homosexual but as annoying, whom they thought was a big goose that they were hunting for meat. Insanity. I could go on. ANYWAY, to tie this big comment into today's episode, I thought it was quite a moment of kismet that I had just revisited Kroll's last major appearance on CBB not even a week ago (his only other appearances this year were on that messy SXSW ep where Horatio played Kanye, and then Nick called in on a Kevin Pollak/Seth Morris ep that I cannot recall at all), only to have today's episode drop to my great pleasure of full on Nick Kroll action. The episode description actually gave me false expectations. Jason is such a CBB lore guy (whether it be the Daly-verse or the Wompler-verse) and with the mention of a reality-bending Mailer Daemon creature, I was prepared for an episode much more cohesive and strict to that particular premise. What we got was what the episode description did say, but with so many more delightful, unexpected twists and turns. The continuous perverting of 'Heynong Man,' the 'Oh Fuck' coming/injured sequences, all of Nick's characters popping in and out (which is so easy to get swept up in and think that Nick has control of the room, only to be reminded that Scott and Jason are just playing along, and that they can— with a single comment— trip Nick up relatively easily by requesting that more of the characters Nick is juggling speak up and give their thoughts), and then if there was a way to make Jeffrey Characterwheaties any better, it was by bringing in Fabrice Fabrice to espouse on the controversy concerning the origins of the Jason Mantzoukas character. I also loved Jason's unabashed praise of the Plugs bag theme. He was succinct in why he enjoyed it, and I found myself nodding in agreement then going back and listening to it a second time. I love that we're getting more Mantzoukas this year, and I am absolutely head over heels for Nick's two, rollicking in-studio performances of 2015.

Eban's intro music was tight on this episode! It's always super-awesome, of course, but I mean he referenced music stuff I recognized which added to my personal enjoyment (like, how sometimes in threads to other episodes people comment on all the awesome little bits Eban sneaks into the proceedings— now I get to qwrite a comment like those!). From playing the Jazzy Rascal tune, to the Bond theme when Matt came out, to his slow crescendo of the Comedy Bang Bang theme as PFT introduced Scott and then just full on jamming on those piano keys like Reggie Watts was in his fingers— he would also send stuff into a minor key for a sobering and/or foreboding effect— I was really REALLY loving Eban this whole episode.

Any list that doesn't have #329 - Too Much Tuna Tour is not my list. If you were here I'd whip your list at you, you stooge. I have cashmere sweaters that are higher on my list, that I could buy and sell! (I had to sell my sweaters.) HUMP WEEK. Gotta get to the end of the month. Never forget your root.

Jason may not be on Twitter but you can find Jeffrey at @Jeffrey140Characterwheaties. (Not really tho; just joking. Twitter handles can only be up to 15 characters long)

(I had just started brushing my teeth when Live Taylor ran into the wall and I almost choked to death)

'CREATOR OF NOTHING'?! Mo'erfuggin' HUMP WEEK!!, Scott!

Oh wow. I never saw that. But hey, Cameron H, I left you a clarification in that thread.

Just FYI, that's JON Daly in character as JOHN Daly. PFT isn't on that live episode. It was a bit Jon Daly was doing in 2012. Twitter profile, etc. That's why "John" Daly and Gelman are ripping apart Jon Daly, because Jon Daly is sitting right there. So when "John" Daly says he'd rape Jon Daly, he's talking about himself.

SCOTT: Come on! Seriously, this was my favorite exchange of the episode, and I'm glad you transcribed it because I was going to but never got around to it. "Thank God, right Scott?" So damn funny.

Tymberlee's Dead Authors appearance is one of the best eps of that show. Insta-classic. She killed it.

Yeah, they've been together before. Even as recently as a few CBB eps back when Bobcat guested.

I'm loving Listler's scoring of the episode with the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack. So good.

In any event...