Episode 457 - Prepare for the Quake

[JulyDiaz 2797]

Legendary comedian/writer/actor Michael Showalter of The State, Wet Hot American Summer and the new TBS series Search Party joins Scott to chat about the great sketch shows of the 90s, the mystery in the new TBS series Search Party, and tips for becoming successful. Then, seismologist Dr. Brian Blouse stops by to tell us what everyone should have in their earthquake preparedness kit. Finally, crime scene expert Mark arrives to let us into his interesting world.

[AlbinLundholm 4020]

Great ep of 'I Love Films' midway through this ep

[TommyPinballs 26]

Let's all dive into Elaine Showalter's body of work to reaffirm the tangible and dismiss Michael Showalter's shallow absurdism.

[mikethehuman 1251]

Kind of ironic that this is 457th episode because I laughed exactly 457 times during this episode! Unfortunately I'll have to listen to it again because I was so busy counting laughs that I didn't hear a single word that was said.

[Boneworm 46]

"I don't think they're ghosts, but..."

 

I love how this was dropped in with absolutely no attempt at a segue. Great episode.

[DavinaReneeDavis 16]

This made me miss Topics so very much.

[Xandar1977 421]

This Search Party sounds pretty good. I'm interested in any show that has a lot of plot.

[SevenDollarsWorthofHoobastank 226]

I was kind of expecting Scott to drop a U2 reference and sing a "Get on your Boots" parody called "Get on Your Stilts"

[Ahoy Fancy Pants 6]

Michael Showalter is an enigma to me. I'm a big fan of so much of his work... I thought The Baxter was great, and Stella is genuinely one of the funniest things ever. But it's hard to know how to take him on CBB.

 

I'm really not here to bash (or fat shame) the guy. I fully admit that it's possible that he has the world's driest sense of humor, and I'm not tuning into it. I did laugh several times at his unwillingness to play along, taking everything that Scott said at face value. On the Topics podcast, it was more clear that his humorlessness was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. It's more ambiguous here, and honestly it gives the episode some weird tension that's kind of fascinating.

 

Of course, I'm only halfway through the episode... and he did just say that he loves the Transformers movies. So what do I know? I'm just posting on here to keep myself off of social media and away from the horrors therein! Cheers!

[Bumpy 1674]

A whole episode with 'guest' Michael Showalter that ends with an ad read for Search Party? I just got clowned.

[ieatpants 720]

i love the earthquake talk -- reminds me of Michael's appearance on the CBB tv show (season 3, ep 6 - Nick Offerman Wears a Green Flannel Shirt & Brown Boots)

 

 

Also, Showalter should work at one of those gay camps because he's so good at being a straight man that he made Scotty even more straight.

 

that makes sense, right?

[NameThatPunky 804]

Rowley killed me right from the start of his segment. Glad to hear him doing something other than Ming, this was amazing.

[Crybaby Jones 103]

Rowley killed me right from the start of his segment. Glad to hear him doing something other than Ming, this was amazing.

 

I thought Mark Sarsgaard the Crime Scene Cleaner/Expert was v. funny and I'll keep an ear(wolf) open for future appearances, but the voice/accent was Mingy to the point of distraction for me. I kept expecting Mark to clown us by suddenly making a sports reference and reveal that he's really Ming! Boy, I sure would've felt clowned if something like that had happened.

[NameThatPunky 804]

Is there anywhere I can hear Rowley speaking with his normal voice? He has such an odd timbre with his characters I'm wondering if that's just part of how he talks.

[Bernard_Shakey 3484]

Is there anywhere I can hear Rowley speaking with his normal voice? He has such an odd timbre with his characters I'm wondering if that's just part of how he talks.

[StanSitwell 811]

I had the same reaction to Rowley, I was thinking "is his real voice just Ming???" I think I got clowned

[Crybaby Jones 103]

I had the same reaction to Rowley, I was thinking "is his real voice just Ming???" I think I got clowned

 

There was a tiny second during the Plugs song where it sounds like Showalter asks him if "Cookin' With Gas" is a real show, and Rowley says something - in what sounded like a non-accented voice to me, at least as far as I could tell with the song playing and the road noise that's always in the background because I listen while I drive - about how he never knows how to do plugs for himself while he's in character.

 

Scott freaks out a bit, maybe because he's pissed about someone talking over the song or maybe because he doesn't want to break kayfabe.

[NameThatPunky 804]

 

There was a tiny second during the Plugs song where it sounds like Showalter asks him if "Cookin' With Gas" is a real show, and Rowley says something - in what sounded like a non-accented voice to me, at least as far as I could tell with the song playing and the road noise that's always in the background because I listen while I drive - about how he never knows how to do plugs for himself while he's in character.

 

Scott freaks out a bit, maybe because he's pissed about someone talking over the song or maybe because he doesn't want to break kayfabe.

 

Almost certain that was Paul Brittain.

 

Also shout out for the break kayfabe line.

[NameThatPunky 804]

https://vimeo.com/20902942

 

Man there's still something weird that pokes through in a lot of his line reading, like an accent. The Wik says he was born in New York but I'm wondering if he had immigrant parents or something.

 

I'm not trying to shit on him if anyone wants to jump on me, it's just fascinating to me.

[AimeeMcCarthy 27]

Um, anybody else feel everything was just a setup for the "Mark" character? Because Jeremy Rowley had the funnier character imo.