Episode 9.3 — Time Crunch: Day 3

[bpiddy 0]

@Scott and @Jeff - I like the earwolf challenge. You guys took a huge risk and are treading new waters with this idea. There aren't too many shows out there that I just can't wait to listen to. THIS show is one of them. I don't always agree with everything., but its not my show.
-
Whether I end up listening to TL or TLDDC in the future is still up in the air. Much like American Idol - just because Rueben Studdard won doesn't mean everyone who watched the show is going to empty their wallets to grab his albums.
-
Thank you for introducing me to LHR and F+

[Julia 477]

@robstraws... I take advantage of any situation where I can to quote or reference random films, which is why I kicked butt at Quizzo last night!

And since I can't break up my paragraphs like the other champs on here, I thought why not break things up with a scary robot face. Am I right?

[Julia 477]

@robstraws... I take advantage of any situation where I can to quote or reference random films, which is why I kicked butt at Quizzo last night!

And since I can't break up my paragraphs like the other champs on here, I thought why not break things up with a scary robot face. Am I right?

[Scott Aukerman 381]

@KC, I agree - it was frustrating for me to listen to as well. But I think it evened out by the elimination. And if I felt like some travesty happened, where the clear winner of this week were eliminated because of the rules not being explained correctly, we would have stepped in after the fact and allowed LHR to compete in the finals. I don't feel that happened.

[Scott Aukerman 381]

@KC, I agree - it was frustrating for me to listen to as well. But I think it evened out by the elimination. And if I felt like some travesty happened, where the clear winner of this week were eliminated because of the rules not being explained correctly, we would have stepped in after the fact and allowed LHR to compete in the finals. I don't feel that happened.

[jeffullrich 652]

@Linus I still can't figure out the spacing thingy, I'm a dolt

Don't worry, I get what you were saying and I think you are right. And I know that sometimes I can get emotional and hot-headed...that's why Scott is the official Earwolf Spokesperson!

I don't think a lot of people realize the impact they have on real people who create things and read what is written. Last night a bunch of us were talking about this very thing at UCB (Kumail, Aziz, Maron, Thune, Benson). It's hard to stomach sometimes, even if most the time you just let it roll off your back like your Mom taught you. But come to think of it, there were no interent forums when she taught me that. I better call her now and ask if that still applies...

[jeffullrich 652]

@Linus I still can't figure out the spacing thingy, I'm a dolt

Don't worry, I get what you were saying and I think you are right. And I know that sometimes I can get emotional and hot-headed...that's why Scott is the official Earwolf Spokesperson!

I don't think a lot of people realize the impact they have on real people who create things and read what is written. Last night a bunch of us were talking about this very thing at UCB (Kumail, Aziz, Maron, Thune, Benson). It's hard to stomach sometimes, even if most the time you just let it roll off your back like your Mom taught you. But come to think of it, there were no interent forums when she taught me that. I better call her now and ask if that still applies...

[Foam Corner 94]

Scott, Jeff, can you guys play the Paul F. Tompkins Ford ads during your shows? That's how advertising works, right? You find funny ads featuring Paul F. Tompkins and you use them without getting paid for it, yeah?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP4IbXg9hQU

[Foam Corner 94]

Scott, Jeff, can you guys play the Paul F. Tompkins Ford ads during your shows? That's how advertising works, right? You find funny ads featuring Paul F. Tompkins and you use them without getting paid for it, yeah?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP4IbXg9hQU

[linuslee 0]

@Jeff - That's a really interesting point. That's one point of difference between the Earwolf Challenge and say, American Idol. The Idol forums may be teeming with rage, but it seems highly doubtful that the producers are reading them. Even if they sneak a peek once in a while, they would never respond.
 
I think the podcast medium may also have a compounding effect on this. Since with TV most people will watch it at the same time, if they're upset, there will be a spike in angry comments, but the thread will eventually settle down in tone. With podcasting, because the listener can choose when to consume it, and also do so while doing other things, people can enter the thread way after the initial posting and still be coming off the emotional charge of having only just listened.
 
I re-read my first post on this thread -- which I must admit, I wrote *as* I was listening to the latest episode. Wow. Did I need to use bold and CAPS? That was rude, I'm sorry. But it was that genuine emotional response being transcribed in real time. You can see a similar pattern with most of the feedback in the thread today. Many people who posted multiple times seemed much more passionate and angry in their first posts than further along in the discussion.
 
It's great that you, Scott and Matt have all posted in these threads. It means a lot that you are reading our feedback, especially because it's difficult to take. Nobody expects you to take every criticism on board. But it's encouraging to feel like we all have a stake in this. That's what makes this medium more interesting than traditional 1-sided broadcasting. That there is give and take.
 
I'd love to hear a round table on the Wolf Den about handling online criticism in general. I'm sure if it came up as an organic topic of conversation among guys at the UCB, there must be many people in the podcasting world with anecdotes and perspectives.
 
Again -- sorry for the tone of some of my comments. I've listened to Earwolf from the 1st episode of CDR-radio over at Indie-103.1 and it's been great to see you guys grow. It's great to see people taking risks and expanding what's possible with the medium. I really encourage you to keep doing it. Even if sometimes that means facing a mini-backlash. I think it will be worthwhile.

[linuslee 0]

@Jeff - That's a really interesting point. That's one point of difference between the Earwolf Challenge and say, American Idol. The Idol forums may be teeming with rage, but it seems highly doubtful that the producers are reading them. Even if they sneak a peek once in a while, they would never respond.
 
I think the podcast medium may also have a compounding effect on this. Since with TV most people will watch it at the same time, if they're upset, there will be a spike in angry comments, but the thread will eventually settle down in tone. With podcasting, because the listener can choose when to consume it, and also do so while doing other things, people can enter the thread way after the initial posting and still be coming off the emotional charge of having only just listened.
 
I re-read my first post on this thread -- which I must admit, I wrote *as* I was listening to the latest episode. Wow. Did I need to use bold and CAPS? That was rude, I'm sorry. But it was that genuine emotional response being transcribed in real time. You can see a similar pattern with most of the feedback in the thread today. Many people who posted multiple times seemed much more passionate and angry in their first posts than further along in the discussion.
 
It's great that you, Scott and Matt have all posted in these threads. It means a lot that you are reading our feedback, especially because it's difficult to take. Nobody expects you to take every criticism on board. But it's encouraging to feel like we all have a stake in this. That's what makes this medium more interesting than traditional 1-sided broadcasting. That there is give and take.
 
I'd love to hear a round table on the Wolf Den about handling online criticism in general. I'm sure if it came up as an organic topic of conversation among guys at the UCB, there must be many people in the podcasting world with anecdotes and perspectives.
 
Again -- sorry for the tone of some of my comments. I've listened to Earwolf from the 1st episode of CDR-radio over at Indie-103.1 and it's been great to see you guys grow. It's great to see people taking risks and expanding what's possible with the medium. I really encourage you to keep doing it. Even if sometimes that means facing a mini-backlash. I think it will be worthwhile.

[smunty 0]

Props to Left-Handed Radio - I fucking laughed at robot borat! And I kinda like the over-acting "straight" guy - thought it added a fun dopey layer on top of the played-out reference.

[smunty 0]

Props to Left-Handed Radio - I fucking laughed at robot borat! And I kinda like the over-acting "straight" guy - thought it added a fun dopey layer on top of the played-out reference.

[Mike Q. 1]

@Scott - having acknowledged that the top 3 were all strong competitors, what was the thinking behind giving them this challenge at this point in the competition? I read and agreed with your explanation for why you thought the challenge was worthwhile, but having a challenge that handicaps a specific type of podcast more than others (sketch vs chat), it seemed like LHR had a higher hurdle to overcome this week. Down to the top 3, it didn't seem like an appropriate time to be throwing monkey wrenches at the gears of competition. Why not just let them wow you with their best stuff and compete in terms of who is most entertaining? Was it just to save that for the finale between the last two remaining podcasts next week? 
 
Having said that, as I mentioned in a post from yesterday's show, Dave and Matt were put in a tough position this week given the challenge that was handed to the contestants. As Besser indicated, I'm sure there was a long deliberation, but it couldn't have been an easy decision, especially given the hazy parameters with which they were working. I don't think it was the wrong decision, as LHR had for me the least entertaining submission; I just think it was the wrong challenge at the wrong time. 
 
@Left-Handed Radio guys and gal, you all went out on a really classy (not to mention funny) note. Keep up the great work, you've earned many a fan here.

[Mike Q. 1]

@Scott - having acknowledged that the top 3 were all strong competitors, what was the thinking behind giving them this challenge at this point in the competition? I read and agreed with your explanation for why you thought the challenge was worthwhile, but having a challenge that handicaps a specific type of podcast more than others (sketch vs chat), it seemed like LHR had a higher hurdle to overcome this week. Down to the top 3, it didn't seem like an appropriate time to be throwing monkey wrenches at the gears of competition. Why not just let them wow you with their best stuff and compete in terms of who is most entertaining? Was it just to save that for the finale between the last two remaining podcasts next week? 
 
Having said that, as I mentioned in a post from yesterday's show, Dave and Matt were put in a tough position this week given the challenge that was handed to the contestants. As Besser indicated, I'm sure there was a long deliberation, but it couldn't have been an easy decision, especially given the hazy parameters with which they were working. I don't think it was the wrong decision, as LHR had for me the least entertaining submission; I just think it was the wrong challenge at the wrong time. 
 
@Left-Handed Radio guys and gal, you all went out on a really classy (not to mention funny) note. Keep up the great work, you've earned many a fan here.

[KS 0]

Love the Challenge guys, great week! Good challenge idea! I agree with and understand the judges' choices!

[KS 0]

Love the Challenge guys, great week! Good challenge idea! I agree with and understand the judges' choices!

[jeffullrich 652]

@Linus Thanks, I appreciate what you have to say. I think we're all starting to calm down a bit... (knock on wood)

[jeffullrich 652]

@Linus Thanks, I appreciate what you have to say. I think we're all starting to calm down a bit... (knock on wood)

[Mike Q. 1]

P.S. I really just posted that to test out Linus's paragraph spacing tip.
 
It works!

[Mike Q. 1]

P.S. I really just posted that to test out Linus's paragraph spacing tip.
 
It works!

[Scott Aukerman 381]

@Mike Q. - I disagree that people shouldn't be given out-of-left-field challenges at this stage in the game. I do agree (and actually had a conversation about this with the producers that affected the Nick Thune challenge making it a little more fair to LHR -which paid off in their favor) that as it nears its conclusion, people should not have to go outside their WHEELHOUSES in what they submit.
.
So if the Zach challenge had been real, it would've been unfair, in my opinion. Because LHR would've been forced to submit something (an interview with Zach) that they don't normally do in their show.
.
But when you boil it down to its basics, the contenders could have submitted anything they wanted this week - as long as it was completed in a half hour. And to me, that's not only fair, it's what constantly happens to you when you work professionally.
.
When I made my CDR interstitial pilot for IFC, my big-time guest dropped out a few hours before the taping. Now, everyone can't always do what I did - call Andy Dick - and I wouldn't even really suggest they do - but it's interesting to see how someone reacts in a time-crisis. And the fact that they all did admirably tells me that this was a great challenge - and probably fun for all of the contestants.
.
You'll find that the finals will be more like Top Chef, where we get out of the contenders' way. But I think it's totally fair to throw curveballs at people in a Top 3 - it's a challenge! It's supposed to be fun more than fair. If we just let people submit whatever they wanted every week -where's the fun in that?

[Scott Aukerman 381]

@Mike Q. - I disagree that people shouldn't be given out-of-left-field challenges at this stage in the game. I do agree (and actually had a conversation about this with the producers that affected the Nick Thune challenge making it a little more fair to LHR -which paid off in their favor) that as it nears its conclusion, people should not have to go outside their WHEELHOUSES in what they submit.
.
So if the Zach challenge had been real, it would've been unfair, in my opinion. Because LHR would've been forced to submit something (an interview with Zach) that they don't normally do in their show.
.
But when you boil it down to its basics, the contenders could have submitted anything they wanted this week - as long as it was completed in a half hour. And to me, that's not only fair, it's what constantly happens to you when you work professionally.
.
When I made my CDR interstitial pilot for IFC, my big-time guest dropped out a few hours before the taping. Now, everyone can't always do what I did - call Andy Dick - and I wouldn't even really suggest they do - but it's interesting to see how someone reacts in a time-crisis. And the fact that they all did admirably tells me that this was a great challenge - and probably fun for all of the contestants.
.
You'll find that the finals will be more like Top Chef, where we get out of the contenders' way. But I think it's totally fair to throw curveballs at people in a Top 3 - it's a challenge! It's supposed to be fun more than fair. If we just let people submit whatever they wanted every week -where's the fun in that?

[Anna 0]

Hey guys, Anna from LHR here.
 
While we appreciate all of the positive feedback for our submission and show in general, it's hard to read some of the criticisms against the challenge, producers and hosts.
 
First of all, these are our heroes you're talking shit about. We're UCB students; Matt Besser set the curriculum there. Please don't tell me he doesn't know what he's doing. It has been an honor and privilege to speak with him and the guest judges on a weekly basis and for them to even like some of our work! Do you understand the validation involved with Marc Maron saying something you wrote was like poetry? I beg you, please, don't spoil it.
 
Yes, the show isn't perfect but it's a new and exciting idea and there needs to be some leeway. We were just happy to be a part of it and the bump in listenership has been certainly worth the work.
 
If you listen to the Wolf Den, you know that Jeff Ullrich was probably hitting his head against a wall trying to figure out where things went wrong. Have pity on the man who's helping to spread quality comedy around the globe. Frank, Peter, Caroline et al have been wonderful. And, yeah, I don't think making Scott Aukerman angry will help us in the long run. Just saying. Don't burn any bridges for us, we can always do that ourselves.
 
So, if you like us, thank you; please stay tuned, we'll have more stuff up soon. If you don't, well we're always open to suggestions. But I think everyone needs to calm down, go to a park and contemplate the fragility of human existence or something, maybe enjoy a tasty ice cream cone before it gets too cold. Anything that doesn't involve a computer.
 
Thanks,
 
AR

[Anna 0]

Hey guys, Anna from LHR here.
 
While we appreciate all of the positive feedback for our submission and show in general, it's hard to read some of the criticisms against the challenge, producers and hosts.
 
First of all, these are our heroes you're talking shit about. We're UCB students; Matt Besser set the curriculum there. Please don't tell me he doesn't know what he's doing. It has been an honor and privilege to speak with him and the guest judges on a weekly basis and for them to even like some of our work! Do you understand the validation involved with Marc Maron saying something you wrote was like poetry? I beg you, please, don't spoil it.
 
Yes, the show isn't perfect but it's a new and exciting idea and there needs to be some leeway. We were just happy to be a part of it and the bump in listenership has been certainly worth the work.
 
If you listen to the Wolf Den, you know that Jeff Ullrich was probably hitting his head against a wall trying to figure out where things went wrong. Have pity on the man who's helping to spread quality comedy around the globe. Frank, Peter, Caroline et al have been wonderful. And, yeah, I don't think making Scott Aukerman angry will help us in the long run. Just saying. Don't burn any bridges for us, we can always do that ourselves.
 
So, if you like us, thank you; please stay tuned, we'll have more stuff up soon. If you don't, well we're always open to suggestions. But I think everyone needs to calm down, go to a park and contemplate the fragility of human existence or something, maybe enjoy a tasty ice cream cone before it gets too cold. Anything that doesn't involve a computer.
 
Thanks,
 
AR