qaop_space 87 Posted February 12, 2015 Great episode, although I wish I'd have known about the movie Whiplash before I listened to this. Ah well, still found it funny. The 13 yo boy scene was utterly marvelous too. 2 Share this post Link to post
HotSaucerman 2051 Posted February 12, 2015 God damnit, I love to hate Armen. He may be responsible for the worst Who Charted's ever, but I guess they're memorable. [shrug] Share this post Link to post
Joe Lerini 7329 Posted February 12, 2015 The episode mirrors the movie pretty well! I didn't realize it was a parody until part way through, but I should have realized what was up when Armen was improving all by himself and Matt walked in on him, just like J Jonah Jameson walking in on the kid playing drums. It was weird when he asked the kid to drum up a song about Spider-Man(!) though. I enjoyed the American Sniper scene in this ep. 3 Share this post Link to post
sophieee 86 Posted February 12, 2015 This cracked me up but hurt so bad. I had flashbacks of trying to do standup and how my jokes probably don't even deserve notes. Had a lil privileged PTSD type of morning. 1 Share this post Link to post
createtildeath 83 Posted February 12, 2015 Hot God, quite possibly the most hilarious intro to I4H ever!!!! 1 Share this post Link to post
Burton 19 Posted February 12, 2015 Gotta chime in and say what an amazing episode. I hope he we get more like it. I love the show no matter what format it takes but mixing it up like this is awesome. Share this post Link to post
createtildeath 83 Posted February 12, 2015 Ok. I don't know why the bullying of Armen is so funny to me, but I had to turn this off 16 minutes in because I can't stop laughing and I'm at work in a quiet office. I legitimately cannot wait until I get home to finish listening to this!!!! The freakin Master Class!!!!! 2 Share this post Link to post
AlbinLundholm 4020 Posted February 12, 2015 This is greatest day of Earwolf I've ever experienced 8 Share this post Link to post
AlbinLundholm 4020 Posted February 12, 2015 Besser being an asshole to Armen is the best thing 2 Share this post Link to post
brandondryrock 415 Posted February 12, 2015 So after learning what Whiplash is, I re-listened to this episode, and it is incredible. I love all the experimental improv that has been going on with this show, between the trilogy featuring the roommates, and now this episode. They have all been great. Keep up the good work Besser! 3 Share this post Link to post
YusefRoach 0 Posted February 12, 2015 I've never been more excited to listen to a podcast episode in my entire life. Armen and Besser are the best and I cannot wait to hear this. Share this post Link to post
groovatoidfunkritis 27 Posted February 12, 2015 This is AMAZING. I just sent an email to my improv group about how this is the voice I hear in my head ALL THE TIME and then I realized the episode title. I got that it was a gag, but I didn't appreciate how completely brilliant it was. THIS IS SO AMAZING! 1 Share this post Link to post
CraigEminger 468 Posted February 12, 2015 Alright I need some clarity here, because I'm only 1/3rd through the episode but I'm feeling a little disappointed (was really high on the hype train going into it, so maybe thats part of the problem too). I feel like there is no ground on this episode, and its making it harder for me to enjoy. From the very beginning, we're inside a bit where Armen is being shit on by everyone and he is bombing. But hes not REALLY bombing, everyones going out of their way to shut him down (at least this is my impression). I absolutely loved the episode of Who Charted with Matt and Armen -- that dynamic felt genuine. Sure Matt might've been harder than usual on him for laughs, but it wasn't a bit. This all feels like a planned bit, and that Armen is in on it. Am I wrong about this?? I'm going to weigh back in once I get to the end, but I really want to love this episode! It's not that its not funny, but like they're even joking about how the improv is supposed to reflect some sort of truth and entertain at the same time, and I get the feeling there's no truth to be had today. :/ Maybe its all due to this Whiplash narrative, so I just did myself a favor and looked up the plot on Wikipedia and will keep that in mind going forward. I totally confused Whiplash with that movie about wrestling (Foxcatcher). Anyways its probably not good to post my thoughts mid show, so here's hoping there's a payoff waiting for me at the end. 1 Share this post Link to post
keepitupstairs 92 Posted February 12, 2015 ^^^ I would say you definitely need to be familiar with Whiplash - and the UCB Master Classes - to get the most from this; there's a LOT more artifice than your typical I4H. 2 Share this post Link to post
CraigEminger 468 Posted February 12, 2015 On the plus side, right after unpausing, Matt just asked my question from Twitter! A++++ episode hahahah. 1 Share this post Link to post
justinmh05 1968 Posted February 13, 2015 On the plus side, right after unpausing, Matt just asked my question from Twitter! A++++ episode hahahah. :D/> Just wait until the end of the episode. It's all building to a pretty great climax. 1 Share this post Link to post
Casaba 5942 Posted February 13, 2015 Besser makes improv seem so badass. 1 Share this post Link to post
Erudite crudite 225 Posted February 13, 2015 Yeah, it's definitely all artifice. Paul Rust in particular can't play a straight man the way that Besser and the others can, so whenever he rags on Armen it's obvious that they're just goofing around. I especially like how at the end, while they're in a scene, Matt cuts to thought bubbles over the improv players' heads (and not the characters they're playing), revealing that the whole thing is one big bit. I kinda want to see Armen go do interviews with Thomas the unpaid intern [edit: I mean Eric, of course!] so that Matt can yell at both of them together. 5 Share this post Link to post
KajusX 1807 Posted February 13, 2015 I kinda want to see Armen go do interviews with Thomas the unpaid intern so that Matt can yell at both of them together. Did you mean Eric? I ask because Matt doesn't really yell at Thomas ever. Share this post Link to post
gonzo 11 Posted February 13, 2015 I agree with TerribleUsername's initial reaction on the episode. I am happy to read that so many are lovin' it, that is great! It for sure was a planned bit which is okay, I just have seen a bunch of Whiplash parodies already (Collegehumor, SNL, Above Average). I felt like it didn't utilize all the great improvisers on the show as much as I had hoped. Stephanie Allynne, Mookie Blaiklock, Paul Rust and Neil Campbell make up a great line-up, but they didn't get to improvise much which I found disappointing, I think they were boxed in and cut off to service the Whiplash parody, which just wasn't interesting to me. I am probably in the minority and I am not against I4H trying new things, this just fell slightly flat for me personally. No big deal, As usual, I look forward to next week's episode. 4 Share this post Link to post
joncarr 15 Posted February 13, 2015 The episode mirrors the movie pretty well! I didn't realize it was a parody until part way through, but I should have realized what was up when Armen was improving all by himself and Matt walked in on him, just like J Jonah Jameson walking in on the kid playing drums. I love Improv4Humans and have listened every episode at least once, and many repeated listens. I never read the forums though, and I came here expecting to see everyone's reaction to how absolutely terrible this was. When I saw the lineup this morning I was completely thrilled! Besser kind of fucking with Armen was pretty fun for a little bit. But I was wondering why he would have someone on that he didn't trust enough to do improv with, and allegedly had done either no improv, or maybe just 101. This isn't the sort of show to invite amateurs. I felt bad for Armen at first, then I started hating him for wasting the talents of the improvisers on what was supposed to be one of the greatest shows ever. I mean they only got a couple of actual scenes in and the rest was just bullshit. How could this dude I'd never heard of usurp Neil Campbell?! Anyway, I came here and people were saying how much they loved the episode. I questioned if I even knew what comedy was because to me that had been a giant slap in the face to all I4H listeners. For the first time in the history of the podcast I felt like they'd actively wasted my time. So I read through the forums and when I came to the post above explaining that the title was actually a reference. I replayed it quickly in my head and laughed the biggest and most cathartic laugh I've had in a long, long time. I then googled Armen and found the UCB Master Classes and was very glad I did. I joined the forums specifically to ask you all what the hell you saw in this shit episode, but now I'm right there with you. That was brilliant! 12 Share this post Link to post
mwn 5470 Posted February 13, 2015 I love Improv4Humans and have listened every episode at least once, and many repeated listens. I never read the forums though, and I came here expecting to see everyone's reaction to how absolutely terrible this was. [snip] I joined the forums specifically to ask you all what the hell you saw in this shit episode, but now I'm right there with you. That was brilliant! This was a rollercoaster of a read. I'm happy it clicked for you in the end! 3 Share this post Link to post
AnnieStone 153 Posted February 13, 2015 "Where are my children? I am a father in Hawaii--" 12 Share this post Link to post
