Episode 4.1 — Recurring Segments: Day 1

[admin 330]

Comedy Bang Bang has Would You Rather?, Sklarbro Country has Sklarbitration, and this week we ask our contestants to show us their recurring segments. Through the coaching sessions we'll learn what constitutes a recurring segment and how a non-conversation podcast can seamlessly introduce these refillables. Will they be able to do it? Find out tomorrow with guest judges Paul Scheer and Matt Gourley.

[CarolineEAnd 41]

This episode made me think about my favorite sketch shows and what they did that constituted "recurring segments." My favorite show of all time, sketch or no, is The State. I guess you could call the "Hi, We're The State" pieces Michael Ian Black did as recurring segments, although I think there are just 4 or 5 of those in total. You could maybe say Louie or Doug or Barry & Levon, but they didn't show up all too often either. What do you guys think?

[Foam Corner 94]

I'm wondering what the upcoming challenges will be. It seems weird that someone will get kicked off because they don't have a recurring segment, or at least a recurring segment as good as the other podcasts. It seems as the weeks go on, it'll be tougher to come up with challenges.
I look forward to the challenge where everyone interviews Paul F. Tompkins for 2 minutes to show off their interviewing skills. (Which absolutely has to happen!)

[auxt 0]

Looking forward to another fun week of the show. And since the topic came up again, I haven't been lost with Brett's material yet.

[shuvelhead 0]

I'm just stoked to find out who the guest judges are. I'm hoping for Howie and Kulap they're good at recurring segments. Long Live Earwolf.

[Foam Corner 94]

"Find out tomorrow with guest judges Paul Scheer and Matt Gourley."

[shovelhead 1]

YAY. Earwolf knows all the right people.

[shuvelhead 0]

Fuck must have missed that, my bad.

[Bob1326657676 0]

I also dislike when phone numbers have too many phone numbers.

[Palooka 0]

Judges have been doing a great job weeding out the weaker contestants. I'm pulling for the underdogs, go Bob and Dan!

[Bucho 188]

-- @Foam Corner: "It seems weird that someone will get kicked off because they don't have a recurring segment, or at least a recurring segment as good as the other podcasts."

-- Yeah, it seems an odd thing to focus a round on. The challenges so far have addressed things which are vital to podcasting but recurring segments aren't a must-have by a long shot. It seems like Maron, to name one of the most successful shows, is doing fine without one. Jordan Jesse Go's recurring segment, Momentous Occasions, is the weakest part of that show. Carolla, to name probably the most successful of all comedy podcasts, has his Made Up Movie and Totally Topical Tivo Trivia, but they're things which seem to pop up only once every 12-15 episodes.
-- But I'm not going to pretend I'm not still totally hooked on this contest. I'm not convinced the format will result in the best podcast being crowned at the finish line, but with Matt in the driver's seat and some stellar judges calling shotgun all the action and drama (and comedy) that's coming our way on this journey from them and the contestants more than makes up for what could possibly turn out to be an underwhelming destination.

[JW Buchanan 1]

I don't know, guys, this sounds like an excellent challenge to me! It seems like the challenge will be as much about setting things up for the listener and communicating clearly (which has been a major problem for some podcasts) as it is about funny content or a novel idea for a segment. I feel like with each week, it's clearer that being funny is only part of the challenge of making a great podcast, and there's so much extra work that has to be done to create context and a flow. As for the unfairness of the challenge-- Even if some of the podcasts don't currently have a recurring segment or want one, isn't it worth trying just once? (Sorry if this is old news-- I just listened to this one.)

[MikeCalhoun 10]

If nothing else, this show has made me really like Matt Besser.