Clint F

@Matt Besser... You were effin' KILLING me on Doug Loves Movies. Just thought you should know.

@Chester... I have to disagree with you too my friend. I think you are WAAAYYYYY off in that comment. I have been a guitar player and singer for many years and the ability to sing or play one style absolutely does not automatically give you the ability to do so in another. As a rock guitarist I have zero ability to play classical or flamenco. I think Matt's comparison is spot on actually. Comedy and music are a lot alike. In both there are many disciplines. Far too many for anybody to be a master of all them. I challenge you to find one comic or musician who can do ALL styles well. Some comics are good at improv, others are good at sketch, while others are good at stand up. . I think it's imperative that the challenge requires the podcasts to try things that they don't normally do. Otherwise it would be incredibly boring and there would be no competition. First off you would have to have all the same kind of show. I personally do not want to listen to 10 chat shows compete at being a chat show. That would be lame & boring and there wouldn't really be any challenge to it. The part where it get's sticky & confusing is in how it's judged. Are the shows judged based on each week individually or on their overall performance so far? Totally Laime is a good example. If you judge them on overall performance then they should stay. If you Judge them on a single challenge they should be gone. I sometimes get the feeling that how the shows are judged changes from week to week but I'm not sure if I can back that up. The Little Dum Dum club is another example. If they are being judged by a single challenge then I think they should have seen the bottom three this week. Is the fact that they have a strong show overall what kept them out? Maybe someone can help clear it up for me.

@Julia... I'm with you. Keaton will always be Batman to me and the first Batman movie was hands down the best. . Left Handed Radio killed me this week. The Batman sketch was hilarious and had me laughing out loud at work ( the ringtone was a great touch ). The follow up sketch was good too I thought. These guys won this week without question. . I wasn't on board with the Little Dum Dum Club at first but they have really grown on me. I think they have the most natural banter of any of the shows and their production on this sketch was OK. The problem for me was that I just didn't think the sketch was that funny. Keep them in the Challenge for sure. . Bob & Dan - Funny sketch. Not my favorite but funny. . F Plus - I like these guys and their show but this week didn't do it for me. For me it wasn't really clear what was happening. . The Fort - I think I liked this sketch more than the judges but could see how some would be offended by it. I think it was funny overall but if they had kept it shorter it may have worked a little better. It was just too long. . Totally Laime - In the beginning I had this show pegged to win but week by week they are losing me a little more. I thought the concept of their sketch was funny and I even thought the gags were funny but the delivery was not so great. I am willing to cut them a little break because this is not what they do but they are gonna have to step it up to keep me on board. . The Earwolf Challenge - I Effin' love this show! Although I am a little disappointed at Matt. I thought he was going to go all rockstar on a chair in a fit of rage but it never happened. Maybe tomorrow....

I really think it's going smoothly so far also. I can see both sides and I think there is some validity to both. I can see why it's beneficial to the challenge for the judges to go in cold but I can also see how it's a detriment. I can see how some might get annoyed by having to hear the same question asked and answered every judging episode. I also think the podcasts should accept the responsibility of making sure their intro covers it if necessary. A simple solution may be just to print a little cheat sheet for your judges that gives a super brief summary of each show. That way as they are listening to the submission they can look at the sheet and answer whatever basic questions they have on their own.

@mike Quimpo... That's a good theory about the Totally Laime choice. Makes sense. Really pretty much that entire post is spot on. I also agree about the TV Zombies. While I like them OK, I think may be just too niche for Earwolf.

I thought the guest judges did a great job. I may be a little biased as I am a really big fan of Marc Maron but I thought he was great. He wasn't overly negative and I think his praise and criticism were on point. I would like to bring up something Marc said that I think is very important and overlooked a lot in podcasting. He talked about radio. It seems as podcasters and podcast fans that we strive to not be like radio but in my mind there is no way around it. Podcasts ARE radio. They are just delivered to the listener differently. We should take some cues from radio. The radio industry figured out what works and what doesn't long ago. While I can go along with bucking the system it shouldn't be done out of habit. If elements of radio work we should use them. I have been an audio producer for radio and TV as well as a voice over professional since I was a teenager. The thing that drew me to podcasting was that we could be different. But I would like to point out that three of the most popular podcasts today, WTF, CBB and Adam Carolla are all much more like traditional radio than the average podcast. All three of these shows hosts have radio experience and I think that experience gives them a clear advantage. The very first thing I noticed the first time I listened to CBB was the radio value that it had. It blends the best of traditional radio with the freedoms of podcasting. Brilliant and Scott is as skilled as any traditional radio host I have dealt with. . The other thing Marc brought up that relates to radio is microphone choice. He mentioned the importance of quality mics which cannot be stressed enough. He mentioned that they were talking into the best mics available for podcasting and I agree (with maybe the exception of the EV RE20). He and Earwolf use Shure SM7B's which are legendary broadcast mics (the entire Thriller album was recorded with these) and I have always had at least one or two in my own arsenal. Broadcast is the operative word here. The thing I have noticed about most podcasts is that they are not using the proper equipment. As I said, radio figured out long ago what works and what doesn't. The typical mic being used by podcasters are not the right tools for the job, in spite of what the manufacturer may say and you will NEVER find one in a pro radio studio. This is in my mind one of the biggest reasons that Earwolf shows sound infinitely better than the rest. They produce it like a radio show and they use the right equipment. So he is right... if you want to sound like a pro, you have to buy pro gear. I am working on a little podcasting microphone and equipment primer that I hope to have finished tonight. It will cover the different types of mics and audio interfaces and what makes them suited for podcasting. If anyone is interested I will be happy to post it. Sorry for the overly long post.... Sometimes I get excited.

I would have to agree that this week was overall pretty weak. There were a few bits and pieces that made me laugh (the danger of horses) but overall nothing very strong. I would have to say that this week the Dum Dums got it for me. It was funny and true to their style. Think their show would be a good fit for Earwolf although I wonder how much of their show will be lost on Earwolf listeners because of geographical references and guests that may be famous in Australia but unknown to us here. I was really disappointed by Totally Laime's choice and especially by the sound effects. SFX are great in a sketch show but not in a chat show. The other thing that bothered me about the SFX was that you could hear her doing it. You could hear the clicking and the SFX came in late most times which to me ruined any possible positive impact they may have had. I think if you are going to use them you should definitely have a producer doing that behind the scenes. At the very least get a quieter mouse.

Caroline raises a really valid point in her playing bits for a friend scenario. I can think of several shows off the top of my head that I love but am positive my friends would not get without me guiding them to the right bits to start out with. I also see the potential value in having a judge that listens to everything. As Jeff mentioned though the logistics of that would probably be impossible. My thought is while the celebrity guest judges clearly don't have the kind of time necessary to listen to entire podcasts every week, there must be an Earwolf listener who does have the time. What if you chose one listener whose opinion you value and who has the time to listen to all of the shows and make them the second regular judge or "Listener Judge" as I like to call it. From what I gather most people on this board listen to quite a few weekly as it is so clearly there would be someone with the available time. They would not be a full time judge through each episode though. The show would go pretty much the same as it has with the difference being the "listener judge" would only participate once it gets to the choosing of the show to be eliminated and would only participate for as long as the judges need. The listener judge could possibly clarify things for the guest judges and would really act as more of a consultant than anything else offering the viewpoint of someone with a more intimate understanding of the shows. Additionally it would add to the "reality" aspect of the challenge by including a non-celebrity. Just a thought. Although I must say that I really enjoy the show as it is and so far I feel as if the judges have made the right choices so I am not exactly sure that a solution is necessary.

Mike D makes a valid point regarding the movie trailer concept. It is done quite a bit. I think Brett was at a disadvantage in the challenge for the simple reason that he doesn't have a group of people with different ideas to pull from and to keep each other in check like the other shows. It is hard doing a show by yourself. You could compare it to Paul McCartney & John Lennon. While I love a lot of the solo stuff from both of them, they also put out a lot of horrible crap on their solo albums. Much more than the Beatles. I believe that's because they kept each other in check. They needed each other to be able to say "hey, that song isn't as good as you think it is". When left to their own devices they did things like "Double Fantasy" or "Ram". Matt, you make valid points as well especially about the interaction with your producers. I think the show is going great. I like the loose and natural feel of it. That's the main thing that drew me to podcasts. My background is in traditional radio production where everything is very scripted and the rules were set many moons ago. I love the relaxed feel of podcasting. One of the things I like about the way you host the Challenge and interact with your producers and judges is the looseness and the sense of the unknown. It makes me feel like we are all in on the ground floor and are all participating in shaping the future of podcasting.

I think they made the right choice. I can understand the challenges that come with being a one man sketch comedy show and I think the judges took that into consideration. I think for the most part the judges have all really liked Ham Radio and what he does. I think they may have even been a little unfair when addressing the "hack" comic impressions bit. Especially considering the latest episode of CBB has Todd Glass doing that exact same thing. Using the logic of the judges, the difference I suppose is that Todd is accomplished enough to be able to make those kinds of jokes. I think Ham Radio is decent and the production is great. But I have to say that I have yet to hear any submissions from HR that have made me laugh. While I have heard some funny bits on his show, I just didn't really hear any on the challenge. I think Brett's definitely on to something and I think he should stick to his guns. I just didn't think he was a strong competitor for the challenge. My two favorites for this challenge are Little Dum Dum and Totally Laime. The LDD bit made me think of some of the nicknames we had for people growing up and it was definitely funny. As for Totally Laime, I think they will go all the way. The show is a good fit for Earwolf and I think they have nailed the last two challenges. Their theme song entry was great. Short and to the point and catchy. Their recurring theme entry was great also I thought. It plays fast, let's you get to know about the guest, and provided some laughs. In my eyes (or ears as the case may be) Totally Laime is a little more polished than the rest. They have a great radio sensibility that I like.

I have to disagree with Laura as well. Although like others I also think that her criticism was laid out respectfully and with her reasons listed. Definitely refreshing. But I definitely disagree. The Apple Sisters has become one of my favorite Earwolf shows. I think the girls do a fantastic job. There is a little talking over each other but it doesn't bother me at all. A scripted show can sound scripted if not done properly and I think imperfections like that help to give it a more natural flow and feel. I love the characters and have no problem distinguishing one from another. And I definitely don't feel they one up each other. Again I think it makes it feel natural and real. For the record I hope to marry Candy Apple someday or at least spend some quality time together. If only I could master time travel... Often when I listen to a new podcast I will only check out one episode and whether it's fair or not, will form my opinion after only a few minutes and then move on to something else. I would love to give them all a fair shake but there are too many. With that said, I am curious as to how many episodes Laura listened to. I could see if someone just casually listened to one episode or part of one episode of the Apple Sisters that they may not get it. If that is the case Laura please give it another shot. I think you have done a great job girls.