JW Buchanan

This wasn't my idea, but I want to leave it here for consideration: For a future challenge that involves working with a guest, how about letting each podcast work with the same guest (say, Paul "Podcast Gateway" F. Tompkins) so that the listener gets a better feel for how the podcasts differ. Then, the guest could consult with the judges (or judge the challenge themselves), giving inside information and feedback about how they thought it went.

I heard that too-- I assume they were trying to spare us a long semantic argument about comedy mechanics, except I don't want to be spared. Or maybe it was a technology burp.

In a previous thread, someone suggested that each podcast feature Paul F. Tompkins as a guest-- Obviously, it's too late to do something like that this go-around but it's a TERRIFIC idea and it would be really interesting to hear feedback from the interview subjects on who did the best. . On a completely different note, I'm a little worried about what kind of judge Marc Maron will be. He doesn't suffer fools gladly or like to play along with podcast silliness (see: Maron on Who Charted?). Maybe if he's in a bad mood he'll just eliminate all the contestants. This could be worse than when Top Chef let Cookie Monster judge a competition (not a joke). Cookie Monster doesn't even have a mouth! He just crumbles up the food and throws it in the air!

I think there are lots of ways Ham Radio could turn a movie trailer parody sketch into more of a recurring segment. All that's missing is a line of continuity. These might all be terrible ideas, but you could: Make each successive trailer a trailer for the sequel to the last trailer's movie (and get more and more schlocky and ridiculous); Or do a series of trailers that advertise the same movie completely differently (making fun of different trailer tropes or the ways things are marketed to different groups); Or make trailers for cheapie cash-in knock-offs of upcoming Hollywood movies (like the kind they used to sell in bins at Blockbuster Video). Like I said, probably all bad ideas, but it's not impossible to come up with an angle that would make a movie trailer sketch feel like part of a series. . I feel like there's been a lot of criticism of Matt and his shifting definitions of the challenges, but I appreciate the amount of thought he's putting into it and I think he gives a lot of applicable advice during the coaching sessions. I feel like an important aspect of this show (and all competition reality shows) is knowing good advice when you hear it, and then doing something with it. Looking forward to next week's shows!

I demand guest judge Tom Scharpling. He'll tell this podtrash what's what!

Of the chat shows, I'm starting to like Bob and Dan Cast the most. They have an easy charm and have shown a lot of range so far in how they package their chit-chat. I'm curious if Left Handed Radio's Herb from Pittsburgh has ever met Philly Boy Roy. They seem like cousins. The only show I'm down on is the F Plus, because I'm a little uncomfortable with the judgmental, look-at-the-freak aspect of what they do. I think they were better this week because the humor came more from their conversation and not just laughing at somebody. Maybe it's just not for me-- I like to live in a very mellow, Judgment-Free Sphere.

I really like Matt's approach to the challenges. I think it's helpful for him to have such a flexible definition of what the assignments entail, since these podcasts are pretty different-- It allows them to fulfill the challenge in a way that represents their vision. A didactic, one-size-fits-all approach would just result in samey submissions, which I assume is not the point of this.

I don't know, guys, this sounds like an excellent challenge to me! It seems like the challenge will be as much about setting things up for the listener and communicating clearly (which has been a major problem for some podcasts) as it is about funny content or a novel idea for a segment. I feel like with each week, it's clearer that being funny is only part of the challenge of making a great podcast, and there's so much extra work that has to be done to create context and a flow. As for the unfairness of the challenge-- Even if some of the podcasts don't currently have a recurring segment or want one, isn't it worth trying just once? (Sorry if this is old news-- I just listened to this one.)

@Fanta S.: I don't completely agree with you, but I do feel like Television Zombies hold a huge advantage over the other competitors, which is that their subject matter is so far outside the judges' expertise that they mostly refrain from criticizing them. It may be more reasonable to judge them purely on the comedy aspect of their podcast or their ability to connect with the Earwolf audience at large (who may or may not be sci-fi diehards).

Something that always bugs me in reality competitions is that typically, the only people to receive helpful criticism are the people at the top and bottom (in this case, just the bottom 3). If there was a way for Matt to convey a little bit of the criticism from the previous week during the individual coaching sessions, that might be a quick fix.

Was The Complete Guide to Everything's "Mini Bigfoot Butler" bit too close to Paul F. Tompkins' famous "Mini Bear" routine? Maybe! I'm sorry to see them go-- I feel like they and the F Plus have had the hardest time communicating what their show is through short clips. Oh, the vagaries of the reality competition format!

This was a great episode! Great judging-- I loved how PFT & Jesse gave really sound technical advice, rather than just acknowledging the technical problems as a negative. It might just be my own taste, but I really enjoyed how The Fort and Ham Radio just beat the hell out of a single premise, without giving the listener a clue to where they were going. That kind of stuff where things go from amusing, to annoying, to hilarious is something that podcasts do particularly well. The clips as a whole were very entertaining (although I could do without some of the Gervais-style cackling in the background of the F Plus) and I retract my earlier teasing of Left Handed Radio, who were quite good. Looking forward to tomorrow's show!

HUBRIS! For anyone to imply that their sketch podcast is better than Superego-- Pshaw and DOUBLE PSHAW! SCANDAL! That had better be a good two minutes of sketch podcast comedy tomorrow. SCOFFING!

I was surprised to see Beginnings go, given the amount of time the judges spent offering suggestions to improve the show (and Wrestling Team's positive attitude about accepting their criticism). It looked like there was a lot of potential there. Meanwhile, other "podtestants" (tm copyright JW Buchanan Worldwide Enterprises, LLC) still in the competition seemed to wholly resist the challenge and change nothing even if their intro wasn't working, which as a listener is not super-entertaining. What's the harm in trying it another way? Good luck to Beginnings and good luck to the remaining podtestants.