TheLoudestFan

Butthead.

It's been a while since I've seen it (the task of rewatching seemed all too daunting), so I hope I'm remembering this right: In the church battle between DD & Bullseye, isn't DD's method of dodging the piles of glass thrown by the superhumanly-accurate Bullseye just a series of backflips? Was this really so hard a target for a peanut-tossing, fly-killing badass like Bullsy?

While I wasn't the biggest fan of Totally Laime (I must admit I was rooting for Left-Handed Radio, then TLDDC going into this), I am in no way upset with how this turned out. I was plenty entertained by both entries, and I think the 2-1 vote could have easily gone either way and remained completely fair. So, congrats to Totally Laime, I look forward to subscribing to you as another wonderful Earwolf show. . Now, I gotta echo the sentiments of how engaging the Earwolf Challenge was as a whole. Every week, I waited until Tuesday nights at midnight just so I could stay up and knock out all three episodes for the week in one sitting. No other podcast has ever earned such urgency from the likes of my ears. Y'all talk so much about the importance of the hook, and your show has one of the best ever: an in-depth study of the essence of podcasting communicated over the narrative of a competition. The variety of examples the format provided was incredibly fulfilling, allowing us to see effectively what nuts and bolts separate good from great podcasting. While I was invested with who won or lost over the weeks, and I did find myself griping a little over the procedure, I think the overall value of the show as a learning experience is indispensable, and I would be incredibly sad to hear that it will never happen again. If anything, I think the show would grow with further seasons, since every batch of shows will have all the previous seasons to take to heart before even beginning to compete, which would lead to less confusion over what the shows should or shouldn't be aiming to accomplish. And now I'm rambling. Thesis: please, please, please come back with another season, Earwolf. And if Matt Besser can continue to be involved, all the better.

While I wasn't the biggest fan of Totally Laime (I must admit I was rooting for Left-Handed Radio, then TLDDC going into this), I am in no way upset with how this turned out. I was plenty entertained by both entries, and I think the 2-1 vote could have easily gone either way and remained completely fair. So, congrats to Totally Laime, I look forward to subscribing to you as another wonderful Earwolf show. . Now, I gotta echo the sentiments of how engaging the Earwolf Challenge was as a whole. Every week, I waited until Tuesday nights at midnight just so I could stay up and knock out all three episodes for the week in one sitting. No other podcast has ever earned such urgency from the likes of my ears. Y'all talk so much about the importance of the hook, and your show has one of the best ever: an in-depth study of the essence of podcasting communicated over the narrative of a competition. The variety of examples the format provided was incredibly fulfilling, allowing us to see effectively what nuts and bolts separate good from great podcasting. While I was invested with who won or lost over the weeks, and I did find myself griping a little over the procedure, I think the overall value of the show as a learning experience is indispensable, and I would be incredibly sad to hear that it will never happen again. If anything, I think the show would grow with further seasons, since every batch of shows will have all the previous seasons to take to heart before even beginning to compete, which would lead to less confusion over what the shows should or shouldn't be aiming to accomplish. And now I'm rambling. Thesis: please, please, please come back with another season, Earwolf. And if Matt Besser can continue to be involved, all the better.

To the judges: I have not listened to any of the 10 contestants' full episodes. Ever. Why is that important? I was not so lost with The F+, and I shared their frustration with the criticisms levied and how that conflicted directly with those of PFT. While I have differed in opinion over 'bottom 3' selection before, I think this is the first episode where I really felt like the wrong show was eliminated in the end. . To me, F+ was the best of the 3, though definitely not as strong as the top 2 (Left Handed Radio FTW!!!!). In fact, I genuinely believed Totally Laime was the weakest submission, and I felt the judges really nailed the right criticisms. I guess I just disagree with how important those criticisms were. To explain: In the end of the episode, Kulap went a bit self-deprecating and said she did "giggle commentary," which is absolutely true of Who Charted?. BUT, she always does so at the most appropriate times, and her giggling is often what finds the exact really funny essence amid Howard's amazing free-associating, which gives each moment the right amount of reflection to help the listener join in the laughter over concepts that would have been tragically glossed-over otherwise. It's probably one of my favorite characteristics of Who Charted?. Elizabeth Laime, on the other hand, bogged the clip down with giggling, and deflated so much of the funny potential. I think of the 5 clips, it was the only one where I never found myself actually laughing out loud. . I don't mean to sound so anti-Laime, and with the exception of these past 2 weeks, I always found it fair to call them a "front-runner," as they normally handle the challenges pretty well. I just feel like their submission this week was so egregious in its errors, while feeling that the ultimately-cut show suffered for a problem I never felt. But maybe that's why I'm not a judge, who knows? However, I do agree that B&D had a rightful close-call with elimination. I just feel F+ and TL should have body-switched for the results this week. . Finally, I wanna let Matt Besser know that he has been and continues to be one of my favorite (top 3, even!) working comedic talents. Just thought I'd dilute some of the hate I keep hearing about.

I've got to agree with criticisms levied against The Fort. In my opinion, I think B&D and F+ were both stronger submissions (especially B&D). The challenge was about the involvement and utilization of the guest, not the selection of the guest. Sure, Braunger is a great straight-man, but The Fort recognizing that and still turning in a mediocre sketch that none of the judges particularly liked doesn't do much to their credit. . As far as F+ is concerned, I agree that their 15-second intro could have been used much more efficiently. Listen to the content of your clip, then use the intro to fill in the holes of context. Stating the same thing twice was a poor choice. That being said, I feel like their guest was utilized well (I'd liken the bit to Brett Gelman's appearances on CBB/CDR), and that the only weakness of the clip itself was the staleness of the "No!" reaction from the F+ hosts. It could've built on itself more, yes, but it was still a better use of the guest than others. . For B&D, I'd just reiterate the slight unfairness of calling their device 'trite.' If podcasts like LDDC and TL get points for chemistry and such (and B&D in previous episodes), that segment should have received more credit for their ability to interact and build, regardless of the device that got them there. Yes, it could have been better if it was tailored to the guest more, but where they took it should have placed them above The Fort at the very least. . Finally, I'm sad to see TVZ go, but they absolutely were the weakest submission this week, so ultimately I'm on board with how everything has turned out thus far.

Does anybody else actually play along to these? This one was quite pleasant.

Oh, man, I'd love to go see The Back-up Plan with you, but you're a terrible human being. Not really a back-up plan, but that's as far as the conversation would go.

I had the exact same reaction as @Ben: "Ooh! Seth Morris! That means we'll get to hear some more Bob Ducca genius! What? He's doing something else? How could this possibly compare!?" only to have this quickly become one of my favorite episodes of 2011 thus far. Bobby was spot-on throughout, and Seth proved yet again how insanely brilliant his character work always is. Also, definitely one of the best WYR outcomes of all time.

I wish I may, I wish I might Keep Green Lantern out of sight. From Ryan Reynolds to Geoffrey Rush, You'd think the cast - a royal flush - Would have passed on this shit, goddamned outright.

In the same vein as a pledge drive: Fundraising tour. I figure that the logistics of such would be a nightmare, and that this would require a substantial investment to get it off the ground, but if a big enough show (or shows) could do 10 weeks in 10 cities or so, recording one (or more?) live ep each visit (plus extra, bonus eps for which you could charge?), you can put a face on donating. It's easier to turn down kicking in a few bucks online than it is in person. So, you could charge a standard show price for tickets, encourage listeners ahead of time to bring cash/cheques, then have hosts/guests physically interact with the crowd to collect extra money on top, whatever they feel like giving (and I'm sure the talent could make that just as entertaining as the rest of the show). You can also have cities compete against each other for tickets sold and for extra money raised, encouraging participation all the more. Plus, you can have a moment of each show for members of the audiences to participate that you can auction/sell right then and there. Booking varieties of guests shouldn't be too much of a problem since so many comedians/musicians tour year-round, and you'd have a chance at tailoring each show to slightly smaller, more local acts who come to LA less frequently than the usuals. Like I said, probably expensive to undertake, so this might be better suited for the future of Earwolf than right now.

Oh, and Carlos Alazraqui, perchance?

I also think the Cracked.com crew is a great suggestion, and would add Robert Brockway to that list. I know some of those peeps hace UCB connections too, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch from the norm (and Norm would be great, too). Also, in addition to Trevor Moore, all of WKUK would be worthwhile IMHO. I also think a special all-UCB founders episode would be insanely awesome (in-character from the sketch show?), though I know Amy might be tough to schedule.

Thoroughly seconded, and I'd recommend the HDTGM crew also check out one of the monthly midnight screenings of it over at the Sunset 5. It's an experience akin to Rocky Horror Picture Shows, only better and frequently attended by Wiseau himself.

I went to a live WTF with Marc Maron taping earlier tonight, at which Seth Morris appeared as Bob Ducca, dressed in character. When Marc first announced that Seth would be appearing as Bob, I worried whatever look he'd have would kill the mental image I had of good ol' Bob. However, once he came out, complete with several casts, various braces, bloody socks, sprayed-white hair, a wonderfully large mustache and clothing that screamed 'repeatedly divorced,' all worries dissolved. His appearance really worked well (providing a bit of prop humor for Morris to spring from), and his performance was, as always, completely hilarious. I've heard he's done live appearances before, and I was wondering how other people view Morris' choices in this matter (especially considering his own opinions on the subject, as expressed in his Wolf Den appearance in Episode 2).