linuslee

Based on a true story... Check. Keira Knightly as a Bounty Hunter... Check. Director Tony Scott at his most self-indulgent... Check. Platinum-grade turd.

@Caroline You raise a good issue -- some podcasts do have to hire staff and are in a more rigid position with regards to schedules than those who have the ability / are at the stage where they are simply recording from home. However, how does this play into the challenge? The one participant this was true for was LDDC -- did the consideration of how much of a worse logistical position they've been put in effect the judges? We don't know yet. However, they seem to be chided for bringing it up. They had to kick other programs out of the studio recording space for this stunt. Will whoever the winner is be recording in the Earwolf studios? Seems unlikely for 2 out of the 3 finalists. I just felt frustrated as a listener that this challenge didn't reveal much about the shows dynamics, content or capability. It only showed how they reacted to being pranked. Also, the judging criteria on the challenge has been hazy most weeks, but this week seems completely undecipherable. What were they judging them on? Being funny? Then why did LHR get criticized for not referring to the situation? If the challenge was to riff on the situation, why did LDDC get chided for harping on about what happened to them too long? Just a very frustrating challenge overall, not just for the challengers but also, at least, for this listener.

@Caroline You raise a good issue -- some podcasts do have to hire staff and are in a more rigid position with regards to schedules than those who have the ability / are at the stage where they are simply recording from home. However, how does this play into the challenge? The one participant this was true for was LDDC -- did the consideration of how much of a worse logistical position they've been put in effect the judges? We don't know yet. However, they seem to be chided for bringing it up. They had to kick other programs out of the studio recording space for this stunt. Will whoever the winner is be recording in the Earwolf studios? Seems unlikely for 2 out of the 3 finalists. I just felt frustrated as a listener that this challenge didn't reveal much about the shows dynamics, content or capability. It only showed how they reacted to being pranked. Also, the judging criteria on the challenge has been hazy most weeks, but this week seems completely undecipherable. What were they judging them on? Being funny? Then why did LHR get criticized for not referring to the situation? If the challenge was to riff on the situation, why did LDDC get chided for harping on about what happened to them too long? Just a very frustrating challenge overall, not just for the challengers but also, at least, for this listener.

Wow. Anyone else completely disappointed with this challenge and how it was handled? This episode more than any other told us nothing about what to expect from the shows if they won the challenge. The constraints of the particular challenge were such that it wasn't handled like the podcasts would in real life. If this was actually to happen: a) They would skip a week. They could release a "best of" or clip show -- many podcasts do this. c) They could find an alternative guest. None of these were possible, and it just felt like a poor attempt at a reality TV style gimmick to artificially up the drama by f*cking with people. Except it didn't even do that by not recording the moment of reveal! I have really enjoyed this series, but have to say, this was a really disappointing turn of events. There were so many other options for what could have been done with the final 3 contestants that would have shown more about the shows strengths and weaknesses, or suitability to the Earwolf network. For example, so much of this competition has been about the new listener's perspective -- what about features to keep people tuning in? How about interaction with the audience (this was hinted at but not really fully explored in the recurring segments challenge)? How about a marketing challenge -- how are they using twitter, facebook and other platforms to promote the podcast? I was barely able to sit through the fake coaching session. Who was this for? It didn't serve the listener -- it didn't serve the contestants -- Matt Besser didn't seem to be having fun! WTF? Really hope you guys will recover from this misstep so late in the game, Earwolf challenge. And, please, don't pull this kind of stunt again next season.

Wow. Anyone else completely disappointed with this challenge and how it was handled? This episode more than any other told us nothing about what to expect from the shows if they won the challenge. The constraints of the particular challenge were such that it wasn't handled like the podcasts would in real life. If this was actually to happen: a) They would skip a week. They could release a "best of" or clip show -- many podcasts do this. c) They could find an alternative guest. None of these were possible, and it just felt like a poor attempt at a reality TV style gimmick to artificially up the drama by f*cking with people. Except it didn't even do that by not recording the moment of reveal! I have really enjoyed this series, but have to say, this was a really disappointing turn of events. There were so many other options for what could have been done with the final 3 contestants that would have shown more about the shows strengths and weaknesses, or suitability to the Earwolf network. For example, so much of this competition has been about the new listener's perspective -- what about features to keep people tuning in? How about interaction with the audience (this was hinted at but not really fully explored in the recurring segments challenge)? How about a marketing challenge -- how are they using twitter, facebook and other platforms to promote the podcast? I was barely able to sit through the fake coaching session. Who was this for? It didn't serve the listener -- it didn't serve the contestants -- Matt Besser didn't seem to be having fun! WTF? Really hope you guys will recover from this misstep so late in the game, Earwolf challenge. And, please, don't pull this kind of stunt again next season.

Really enjoying this series -- very informative while also entertaining. Some more suggestions: 1) Just listening to the Doug Benson & Harris Wittels feedback episode, and something is coming up that has happened numerous times throughout the series: Inform the Judges of the restrictions of that week's challenge ahead of time It's frustrating to hear feedback on issues related to the nature of the challenge itself over and over. Did Doug & Harris know that each podcast had only 10 minutes with Nick without being able to contact him ahead of time? Obviously not from their feedback. This is the most obvious time this has come up, but has also happened on other shows. 2) The objective of each challenge needs to be clear from the start Maybe in season 2 this will be easier to identify, but it seems to be worked out during the coaching session (so not every participant gets a clear vision of the objective) and then changed throughout the judging part. If the point of the "Using a famous guest" challenge is to showcase the guest, the judges can't criticize one podcast for not letting the guest talk enough, and criticize another for building the entire show around the guests performance. 3) I was really surprised to hear that the participants aren't getting to hear the full coaching session. I know Matt mentioned something about the concern of episodes getting leaked early, but surely that's a secondary problem to not everyone being on the same page. Some suggestions to get around this: a) Deliver the coaching session via some kind of private, streaming only service. Provide it unedited and low-quality -- listenable but of diminished value to leak. c) Have an intern transcribe notes & email all the participants All in all, the series has been great -- in spite of the lack of polish. I think it's great you guys are doing something never before done in podcasting, and really dissecting the medium while doing so, but there are logistical problems here that once solved will make it much less frustrating for the participants, and vicariously, the listener too. Looking forward to the rest of the series, and season 2!

Really enjoying this series -- very informative while also entertaining. Some more suggestions: 1) Just listening to the Doug Benson & Harris Wittels feedback episode, and something is coming up that has happened numerous times throughout the series: Inform the Judges of the restrictions of that week's challenge ahead of time It's frustrating to hear feedback on issues related to the nature of the challenge itself over and over. Did Doug & Harris know that each podcast had only 10 minutes with Nick without being able to contact him ahead of time? Obviously not from their feedback. This is the most obvious time this has come up, but has also happened on other shows. 2) The objective of each challenge needs to be clear from the start Maybe in season 2 this will be easier to identify, but it seems to be worked out during the coaching session (so not every participant gets a clear vision of the objective) and then changed throughout the judging part. If the point of the "Using a famous guest" challenge is to showcase the guest, the judges can't criticize one podcast for not letting the guest talk enough, and criticize another for building the entire show around the guests performance. 3) I was really surprised to hear that the participants aren't getting to hear the full coaching session. I know Matt mentioned something about the concern of episodes getting leaked early, but surely that's a secondary problem to not everyone being on the same page. Some suggestions to get around this: a) Deliver the coaching session via some kind of private, streaming only service. Provide it unedited and low-quality -- listenable but of diminished value to leak. c) Have an intern transcribe notes & email all the participants All in all, the series has been great -- in spite of the lack of polish. I think it's great you guys are doing something never before done in podcasting, and really dissecting the medium while doing so, but there are logistical problems here that once solved will make it much less frustrating for the participants, and vicariously, the listener too. Looking forward to the rest of the series, and season 2!