Yep. I've recently been turned on to this show by another nerd buddy, and I think it's great!
But imho they are making D&D 4E wayyy harder than it has to be. A lot of D&D nerds actually don't like 4E because they feel it's too simplified and streamlined.
As mentioned, each player gets one action point daily that they can use either for a free reroll on any one roll, or an additional attack during combat. If a party completes two seperate combat encounters during the same day, the action point is refilled.
All players get a very limited number of "at will" powers they can use at any time, along with encounter powers that can be used once during an encounter, and a few daily powers that can be used once each in between 6 hour full rests. If you've ever played a game like WoW or EverQuest, think of the cooldowns on your row of action buttons. It is always advised to use your dailies as they are more powerful in general and most still have an effect on a miss (half damage, dazed etc). It's easy and compact enough that each player usually has a single sheet in front of them listing all of their available powers. As the player progresses, they replace old powers with new, so they will never have a huge confusing list of powers to wade through.
Skill challenges are a great way to use rolls and advance the narrative outside of a traditional combat setting. My personal favorite way that I've seen them used is:
the DM describes a situation to the party (ala the chase in this episode)
based on initiative rolls, each player in turn states what action they are going to do using which of their abilities ( like Mildred could have said Athletics for her rope trick) and then rolls to beat whatever skill level (number) the DM has picked for the challenge. The next player cannot use the same ability as the previous player, and no player can use the same ability twice in a row. The number that must be beaten on a roll is the same for each player during the challenge
the challenge resolves positively on 5 successes or negatively on 3 failures (fluctuates with party size)
And when I say traditional combat setting, I mean when the DM leads the party into a planned combat encounter that is part of the narrative that they cannot avoid. 4E relies heavily on miniatures, maps, and "squares". When Blackie said his speed was 7, that means he can move 7 squares on the map with his move action during combat. The combat scenario in this episode is very hard to pull off as the enemies are technically constantly fleeing from the "map", and the players have to use most of their turn keeping pace. Plus in this scenario the enemies never returned fire. It might have been easier to handle for the DM and the players if it were approached as a skill challenge due to the impromptu setting.
And finally speaking of combat, each player gets 3 actions per combat (with stipulation):
a minor action (pulling out weapons or potions, throwing a weapon to an ally, etc)
an standard action/attack roll (basic weapon, at will power, encounter power, or daily power)
a "move" (moving up to an enemy, away from an enemy, or using a "shift"*)
(a shift moves you one square in any direction without the consequences of being vulnerable to an opportunity attack in some cases)
Plus two more possibilities for a turn:
using your action point to attack again
rolling a "saving throw" to remove a negative effect you have incurred from combat, such as slowed, dazed, petrify etc.
This post isn't meant as a criticism, or advice as to how to run your show! I'm just a fellow nerd who wanted to shed some light on 4E rules for any listener or party member who felt a little foggy on what the heck was going on.
ps - I forgot to talk about Healing Surges and marks! The 3 fighters in this party really need to understand "marking" their targets, it makes fighters even more awesome! But my lunch break is almost over. Google them!
-BigNerd
