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johnnyhaggis

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Posts posted by johnnyhaggis

  3. Posted

    Oh I get it, you're being sarcastic... I'm slow sometimes - but still, if Wompler made a joke about obviously not being 15 and knowing way more than she should know then she could get away with it, and it'd be extra funny, but as it is, she's a funny person, and the character is great sometimes, but when she blatantly knows way too mich and doesn't cover for ir, it's just weak to me

     

    Also, PFT makes up things about his characters, but he actually knows who his characters are, their history, their personalities, etc - same with Adomian that's why their stuff is so rich.

  4. Posted

    Do people hate PFT's characters?? Really? Where did you hear that? Is it on the forums?

     

    I love them all! Or most of them at least. PFT is one of my favourite guests, plus I love his podcast

     

    Ice T being a sci fi nerd or Gary Marshall being a cryptozoologist isn't real, but the absurdity of it is why it's funny - Wompler knowing every 80's reference and knowing way too much about jobs and college etc is just weak!

  6. Posted

    Argh - Wompler. St Clair is funny when she's wompler, and a fun guest, but nonetheless that character makes me cringe - she put in zero effort into that character - she's supposed to be 15 but she knows every 80's reference, she knows way too much about sex, about current events, about events from the 80's, about all sorts of adult things - and *nothing* about what 15 year olds like! She's clearly a 35 year old barely pretending to be 15... I know it's a free show and noone's getting paid, but man that drives me nuts. If she at least made fun of the fact that she clearly knows nothing about being 15 and everything that a 30 something year old would know I think it would work, but as it is, it drives me nuts.

     

    I know everyone loves her, so I don't feel too bad putting forth that criticism, which I think totally constructive - when you have a character, do a little research! It makes the character better, and it's fun to do.

     

    Faber's charater worked cause he's making fun of stereotypes and tropes, but St Clair should hang out with some 15 years olds to make Wompler funny as a 15 year old (vs just being a fun personality, which she is).

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    I don't think you need to be sexist to dislike that character or other female characters on CBB - there are some characters that I really don't like at all, but in general my policy is that unless a person is wealthy and famous, I probably won't be slamming on them and I'll keep it to myself. Alot of CBB comedians are trying to make their place, they're trying out new things, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Part of me wants to criticize things I don't like because maybe that's constructive for them (as if they're reading this! But who knows maybe some are) and because I love complaining and mouthing my opinions off, but at the same time I don't feel great about publicly slamming people who are trying to make it.

     

    This probably deserves it's own thread: is it OK to criticize CBB guests here on the CBB forums? Is it constructive? They are doing it for free, and it's not like we're paying and getting a lousy product for our money!

     

    Or is it useful for comedians to have a barometer and see what works and what doesn't? I guess if I was doing stuff, I'd want some feedback, as long as it wasn't mean spirited - meaning it was in the spirit of helping me improve my shit, vs just pooping on me. You need to know if what you're doing works or not.

     

    I 've been listening to back episodes of CBB and I just heard Scott mention on an episode with todd glass that he hates it when people criticize, cause they're doing it for free, etc.

     

    I dunno.

  10. Posted

    Hey duderz- we took them down for a bit so we could explore pumping up the audience mic. They might go back up tomorrow or soonish?

     

    In the meantime, doing another live-stream Thursday at 9pm ET/ 6pm PST.

     

    Good idea - when I first started watching the first CBB with Li'l Gary I thought "wtf is wrong with the audience? Must be idiots, or something" cause it sounds like they're not reacting, but eventually I realized that they just weren't mic'ed and you can only hear the louder reactions.

     

    Somehow, it makes a difference to how one perceives the show - it's funny either way, but there's some lemming instinct in us (me included) that makes us enjoy something more if everyone else is laughing -

     

    like the most fun I ever had watching TV was on a plane watching an episode of "Fraser" (not a show I normally like) back when they used to show them communally on a screen in front - this guy from Ghana was sitting next to me laughing his ass off and slapping me on my shoulder, and I guess because of that I was having a blast enjoying Fraser like I never had before or since!

     

    Yay, looking forward to the next one (CBB not fraser...)

  15. Posted

    Hahaha, we should sue for emotional damages for being deprived of plugs and plugs theme w no warning...

     

    overall, highly entertaining, good show, great guests etc - live works for video, I guess we'll find out next week what the studio version is like!

     

    Love seeing Li'l Gary in the flesh... good that he was wearing sunglasses, maybe it was to hide stoner eyes, but whatever the reason I think it would prevent suspension of disbelief without them.

     

    Just realized he's the marriage arbitrator who was in charge of Soup Group in the League a few seasons ago!

  17. Posted

    Ha, I think the video format would definitely take away some of the magic - think of all the times people say things like "oh gross, you're bleeding all over the place" etc - just having four people sitting around a table without costumes, takes away a lot of the imaginary aspect of an audio show - BUT, it's still pretty cool to be able to see what actually goes on in the room! There are plenty of times when I hear a great bit and I'm thinking "I wonder what the hell they're actually physically doing right now! Are they giving eachother signals and looks, writing eachother notes to keep this going?" etc.

     

    I'd want to listen to the show first and then watch it after if it's one of those episodes, not the other way around, so maybe having the show on video first on friday before having the audio on monday isn't a great idea if they aren't archived on video.

     

    But we don't know for sure that's what's going on, do we? We'll find out tonight I guess... Except I'll be out!

     

    ALW and cakeboss worked on the TV show because the ridiculous ALW costume was part of the joke!

     

    Just cause Tom Lennon is on doesn't mean he's gonna do Li'l Gary! Though I hope he does!

  18. Posted

    I liked Kroll Show a lot - the PubLIZity got on my nerves a bit, but still funny, especially the immobile faced dog plastic surgeon

     

    The Ontario Wheels sketches were total genius. I could not stop laughing, even on 2nd viewing.

     

    I liked CBBtv the first time I saw it, and I saw the show before ever hearing the podcast, but I can understand why people don't get it - you kind of have to be acclimated to that knd of humour. I was ready for it because I'm a Tim and Eric fan. But for many people they don't know what's going on when they see that stuff. It's too next level for the average mutton mind! We're all used to it because we listen to the podcast and other similar comedians.

     

    Like you I loved it more and more, with more viewings. It really is genius, I hope they get another season. Almost every minute of that show is brilliant. I love Scott's retarded games - what are they eating is my favourite...

     

    Also I Wish I'd never Been Born!

     

    I also saw the first episode of Benson Interruption today - he's totally baked out of his mind, but it was great, every minute was totally funny and entertaining. Sad it was cancelled after one season. THat guy must be such a stoner!

     

    I think all these CBB people are riding the crest of a wave of really brilliant avant garde comedy, and most people are still at the level of 90s TV sitcoms, they aren't ready for the genius...

     

    Have to add, whenever I think about how amazing this stuff is, I always flash back to Kids in the Hall - they were doing some of this crazy shit 15 years ago when there was nothing like it. Everyone else caught up just in the last 5 years or so!

     

    I feel like all the genius stuff of today is the illegitimate children of Kids in the Hall and Larry Sanders Show.

  20. Posted

    Suprised there's no thread for this yet! (or did I miss it?)

     

    Comedy Bang Bang (and other Earwolf podcasts!) video version of the podcast! No details yet - if it is just the podcast with a camera in the room I suspect I'll like the audio/imaginary experience better (I actually picture Andrew Lloyd Weber and Christopher Hitchens' ghost being in the room), but I'll definitely want to check out the videos every week to see what my favourite people look like and to see what actually goes on in that room!

     

    Cant figure out how to embed video, but here's a preview with Scott!

     

    [media='']

    [/media]

  22. Posted

     

    Plus, characters are a work in progress, especially in the first appearance or two. If you don't click with one, just accept it as a lesser episode and give it another go next week. They're not going to all be masterpieces.

    ...

     

    I do think that a lot of hate for characters has to do with perception by the audience. Since it's a character, they don't do a set-up followed by a punchline. It's a meandering, evolving thing so figuring out the point of the bit might be difficult for some. There's layers to a character like Nancy, all under a weird umbrella that you have to get past. The bad standup is her gimmick, but there's a lot more bits weaving into that (wheelchair, bus obsession, 'I didn't even have to go to college', grandma, clothes from a bucket, etc.) Each bit should be seen as a joke in a set, so saying you flat out dislike a character is a blanket statement to me.

     

    Definitely agree about the work in progress, often a new character pops up and their schtick is weak, it's not really well thought out yet, their responses aren't really appropriate to their character etc, but it gets better with each appearance.

     

    But that said, there are some characters that I just really dislike, and every time an episode comes up and it's one of those characters, I'm disappointed (though I always listen through every episode). It's not a voice issue, or a lack of punchline format issue - just that the character isn't well thought out, doesn't have good improv reactions or responses, doesn't bring anything really interesting or creative to the table, i.e. is just overall weak - to my ears anyhow, some of the ones I think are really weak are (to my total surprise) really popular.

     

    I get especially frustrated with characters that are supposed to be representing a certain archetype, but that don't really hit home as a critique, cause I can imagine just how funny this character should or could be if the comedian did a bit more "research" into that type of person. But again, this is improv, and often these characters get better with practice.

     

    I think every person on the show is pretty talented, and even the characters I hate come up with something that makes me laugh every once in a while.

     

    i think we're really lucky to have access to this show, especially for free! We'll probably look back at podcasts like this as a golden age of some kind.

  23. Posted

    1. As I said in her last appearance, Nancy is great. For anyone that thinks her character was overwhelming, come on, Pamela Murphy knows what she's doing. She totally took her foot off the gas when Neil's character showed up and let him take center stage for a bit. Kristen and her had an interesting dynamic as well. I could see people not liking a bit, like her bad comedy, or her counting things, but not liking a character because of a voice is kind of stupid.

     

    2. As a fuck you to the people who dislike characters because of a voice, I suggest an episode with the guests: Merrill Schindler, Neil Hamburger, Lil Gary, Nancy, and Lauren Lapkus' student.

     

    What I've realized from these forums is that there are some characters that some people adore, others really dislike - I think Li'l Gary is genius, and I was shocked that people don't like him. I'm equally shocked that there are some characters that I think are terrible in both conception and execution that other people seem to love.

     

    But at the end of the day, it's a free show, it's an AMAZING show, one of the best shows of any medium ever, so variable quality (subjectively speaking) is just part of the game, nothing to have a fit about!

     

    On the sexism issue, I don't know what kind of emails Scott is getting - there are a couple of female characters on CBB that I really dislike, but I love Maria Bamford who is THE crazy person with THE crazy voices, regardless of gender, and so I don't think it's secret sexism for me anyway, especially because I'll like one character a particular female comedian does, but hate another one.

     

    That's the same with male characters/comedians - I think PFT and James Adomian are geniuses, but they each have one character I don't really like.

     

    I don't really feel comfortable naming characters I don't like - I feel like these people are working on their schtick, and we're better off encouraging what we do like vs shitting on them for what we don't like. They'll figure it out if no one likes it at live shows when nobody laughs, etc.

     

    I detest a couple of characters, but why should I give the comedian a complex about it because other people probably love those same characters.

     

    I really hate it when I see characters I adore (like li'l Gary) get shat on, because I feel like they're going to get killed off or disappear as a result. I mean, the comics that most of us think of as the greatest geniuses are probabaly not appreciated by 90% of the population out there.

     

    Someone on the forum said that they think PFT was ashamed of Mop Water because it got criticism - meanwhile to me it was one of the best episodes of CBB/CDR history and one of my favourite episodes of anything.

    • Like 1
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