Episode 142 — Popcorn.com

[VladALazerien 16]

Have you seen the doc? http://magicsoapbox.com/doc/

 

 

All you spring dingers out there or anyone else hasn't heard of Dr. Bronner should probably take an hour and read one of his bottles of soap before listening to this episode. ALL-ONE OR NONE! ALL ONE! ALL ONE!

 

[ToucheCostMart 20]

I can't wait to listen to this at work tomorrow.... super excited.

so yeah, I listen to the episode today, and I must say that is was, eh... awesome!

[Fatsquirrel 6]

All I can say is: thank god for Adomian. Tim and Eric are insufferable. The deadpan arrogance is a desperate -- and unoriginal -- attempt to be avant garde.

 

Also, as much as I love Adomian more subtle characters, I like his brash characters like Dov Charney and Dr Bronner. I would have fallen asleep half-way through this podcast if it wasn't for the excitement he brought.

[matthewcohen 18]

I thot it ws a great ep, and It made my drive in to work a great one. Thanks, Scott-o-bot.

 

I have to chime in on the adomian charcter discussion _ i really like the Dr Bronner character and i thot tim and eric were hilarious picking that right up to go into thier irish spring thing.

 

And I (*&* hated that character from epi 141 whose name i will not mention - that one was so blackboard scrape inducing i had to turn off the episode. The Dov Charney character is great when he riffing on the new hilarious fabric/garment combos like a tartan polyester unisex half-sock or whatever it was.

 

They do get mad alot, tho.

[chastityfudge 1]

I would ask for someone to explain to me what is 'funny' about Tim and Eric, but the point is moot. They are so obnoxiously meta they surpass 'not making me laugh' and go straight into 'filling me with rage' territory. Honestly...the popcorn.com gag did not need to go on for 20 minutes, and they gave the guest nothing to work with (ha ha ha Irish Spring ha ha ha). To be a guest on this show, you have to at least be open to improvising, because God knows all Scott offers is terrible puns. Without all the bright lights and unicorns, they come off as major hacks.

[TheWolfDead 40]

I would ask for someone to explain to me what is 'funny' about Tim and Eric, but the point is moot. They are so obnoxiously meta they surpass 'not making me laugh' and go straight into 'filling me with rage' territory. Honestly...the popcorn.com gag did not need to go on for 20 minutes, and they gave the guest nothing to work with (ha ha ha Irish Spring ha ha ha). To be a guest on this show, you have to at least be open to improvising, because God knows all Scott offers is terrible puns. Without all the bright lights and unicorns, they come off as major hacks.

 

Take a couple Sudafed and it will all make sense.

[TommyPinballs 26]

What's with the A-tude? Too much A-tude on the wolf board!

 

[Pants Masterson 81]

Coming at this as somebody that hasn't had much exposure to Tim & Eric to begin with, I thought they were fine off the top, and I was enjoying the escalation of popcorn.com. The Dr. Brunner/T&E mix, though -- I agree that it was oil and water, with Brunner left to flail for a lot of it.

 

I actually got excited when Would You Rather? was announced, because that's where mismatched guests often start to shine despite being a bad pairing -- the OTT personality takes the scenarios in increasingly bizarre directions, while the more low-key guests either play straight men or get some great comedy pulls in the other direction. So I was pretty disappointed – actually, I was a bit pissed off – when the main guests totally fucked off on it.

 

The guests that have blown my mind in the past are those that I haven't at all expected to be game, but turned out to be up for anything – Jon Hamm is amazing, and hell, Matthew Sweet wasn't exactly Don Rickles, but he was game. Tim and Eric are not game at all for anything, and I get a kind of petulant-child feeling from the "either we're driving the bus or we're taking our ball and going home" mentality.

 

So yeah. I'm now less inclined to see Billion Dollar Movie than I was before. I was actually curious about it off the top, semi-sold during all the popcorn.com stuff, but by the end of the episode, my position had shifted to "ehh, fuck those guys." I guess I'm too old to find the too-cool-for-school pose intriguing any more.

[TheWolfDead 40]

Coming at this as somebody that hasn't had much exposure to Tim & Eric to begin with, I thought they were fine off the top, and I was enjoying the escalation of popcorn.com. The Dr. Brunner/T&E mix, though -- I agree that it was oil and water, with Brunner left to flail for a lot of it.

 

I actually got excited when Would You Rather? was announced, because that's where mismatched guests often start to shine despite being a bad pairing -- the OTT personality takes the scenarios in increasingly bizarre directions, while the more low-key guests either play straight men or get some great comedy pulls in the other direction. So I was pretty disappointed – actually, I was a bit pissed off – when the main guests totally fucked off on it.

 

The guests that have blown my mind in the past are those that I haven't at all expected to be game, but turned out to be up for anything – Jon Hamm is amazing, and hell, Matthew Sweet wasn't exactly Don Rickles, but he was game. Tim and Eric are not game at all for anything, and I get a kind of petulant-child feeling from the "either we're driving the bus or we're taking our ball and going home" mentality.

 

So yeah. I'm now less inclined to see Billion Dollar Movie than I was before. I was actually curious about it off the top, semi-sold during all the popcorn.com stuff, but by the end of the episode, my position had shifted to "ehh, fuck those guys." I guess I'm too old to find the too-cool-for-school pose intriguing any more.

Tim tends to come off as a wrong side of the bed guy a lot, but it's an act, dry comedy. It's not too-cool-for-school, it's just not for everybody, not to mention I think this is Eric's first time being on a podcast. They could have arranged a whole skit about "spring dingers", but i do love the direction it went in with Tim slamming the door. Adomian as Paul Giamatti would have worked much better with T&E. They're geniuses, wake up and smell the chippies.

[jimmywellington 9]

I've only experienced Tim from his last appearance on CBB (the only episodes I've turned off before the end.) I agree with Pants Masterson (a sentence I never thought I would say.)

 

I enjoyed the first part, but thought it completely went off the rails once Adomian's character showed up. Maybe some people like Tim's fake irritability. I get that comedy is subjective; I guess Tim and Eric's humor is just not for me. The only thing that irritates me is that I didn't get to really enjoy my Adomian fix.

[MasterCob 14]

I thought James Adomian was great - the problem was, nobody was engaging with his character.

 

Yeah, I agree. In both this episode and the last one (with Tig and Rhona and Bev), once the character guest comes on, the main guests' schtick is basically just, "wow, this new guest needs to shut up."

 

I think both episodes were really funny, though. But I think the character guests could be a little less dominant.

[JLord 0]

James needs to be paired with more "theatrical" improv oriented people. His character was a reasonably funny concept but it didn't go anywhere because everyone else was playing it too strait, including Scott (although I give him marks for desperate efforts to make it work after seeing the problem). Paired with PFT and a guest with solid improv experience the character could do well. Fits with the "Enigma Force 5" type of crackpot character very well and would work well paired with Jesse Ventura if Adomian wants a bit of a challenge (which he would make look easy). This show was a miss because of the pairing.

[sarahride 83]

 

(Jesse Ventura w/ Ice-Tea was legendary), I just felt it was a misfire.

 

I don't think many episodes stand up to this one.

[filingburitto 0]

The first 20 minutes or so of this episode was surprisingly funny. I thought Tim and Eirc were pretty funny being "themselves" and making things up as they went along. I think the introduction of the character threw them off. I usually love whatever James does, and I am sure his impression of this guy was spot on, but it just didn't work. Whether that's because the vibe in the room was off, or he wasn't getting anything to play off of the first 10 minutes he was on, he couldn't extend his story. I thought I could feel him trying to egg someone on to give him something to work with, but got nothing.

 

That said, can someone please fill me in on Tim and Eric. I guess its "alternative," which is great, but I found them more funny in the beginning just making stuff up, than those god awful songs. Were they supposed to funny or dumb or neither, or is that joke? I just don't get it.

 

As a side note, how do these two people have a movie coming out and Brett Gelman doesn't. I probably have laughed more at iBrain than anything in my life. As a side side note, I really wish Scott would a "behind the scenes" blog on that episode. I really don't think anyone in the room saw that coming.

[Hobocop 59]

I do agree with the Tim+Eric / James mix being oil and water metaphor. It's unfortunate, since James is one of the best character actors on the show by far, and when no one plays off of him it's a waste of a great guest and a great character. Another character of his may have worked better on this one but it's hard to say.

 

Tim + Eric's sense of humor never really grabbed me... Their Awesome Show is great for what it is, but it's a very specific type of comedy that I don't think is matched anywhere else. I don't know how to describe it other than "uncomfortably funny"... can't speak for Billion Dollar Movie but I'm sure I'll watch that one out of sheer curiosity.

 

I still really enjoyed this episode; Tim and Eric were great together. It felt like a strange follow-up to ep. 102... I'm still not convinced that Tim was doing a bit back then for the first few minutes of the episode. I'd say more about that one but I guess that belongs in the #102 thread.

[Chud chelios 0]

I've been a big fan of this show for a while, and it seems to get better and better. This show had me laughing so hard, I had to pull over into a parking lot to finish it, lest I die in a fiery wreck of hilarity. Bravo!!!

[sarahride 83]

With all due respect, I highly disagree with those who say that Adomian's character was a bad combo with Tim and Eric. I feel certain that it was all anticipated and played out accordingly. I live in Philly, and while I don't know Tim and Eric, I do know friends of theirs and also people like them who express their intolerance for anyone who tips the too-cool scale with relish. Trust me: this episode was spot on.

[Bucho 188]

I love me some J-Ado but this one didn't fly for me. The opening half hour was a lot of fun though.

[Foam Corner 94]

I think it could be a decent character with a bit of tweaking and with better interaction. Even Scott didn't know how to talk to him.

[chastityfudge 1]

With all due respect, I highly disagree with those who say that Adomian's character was a bad combo with Tim and Eric. I feel certain that it was all anticipated and played out accordingly. I live in Philly, and while I don't know Tim and Eric, I do know friends of theirs and also people like them who express their intolerance for anyone who tips the too-cool scale with relish. Trust me: this episode was spot on.

 

I'm sorry, but if anyone comes off as 'too cool',it is Tim and Eric themselves. How can you say that it was Adomian? He was trying out a character, and they were not into playing along. They suck.

[Bucho 188]

 

I'm sorry, but if anyone comes off as 'too cool',it is Tim and Eric themselves. How can you say that it was Adomian? He was trying out a character, and they were not into playing along. They suck.

 

1. Tim and Eric weren't playing along. Was Scott playing along? No. He wasn't either. Because he couldn't either. Because James came blasting in with an aggressive, shouty wall of nonsense. He came in with flailing, formless lunacy. He gave the other three nowhere else to go because formlessness gives other people nothing to engage with. He gave them no thread to grab a hold of. In the lingo of a little thing I like to call "Improv" James gave them nothing to "yes and".

 

Like I said earlier, I'm a big fan of James, but this time, at least in terms of "normal" improv, he misfired. The nonsense and energy was still impressive in its own way though.

 

2. Acting like a child by insulting Earwolf guests is not the work of anyone whose opinion will get any respect around this classy joint.

[timmytam 0]

 

1. Tim and Eric weren't playing along. Was Scott playing along? No. He wasn't either. Because he couldn't either. Because James came blasting in with an aggressive, shouty wall of nonsense. He came in with flailing, formless lunacy. He gave the other three nowhere else to go because formlessness gives other people nothing to engage with. He gave them no thread to grab a hold of. In the lingo of a little thing I like to call "Improv" James gave them nothing to "yes and".

 

Like I said earlier, I'm a big fan of James, but this time, at least in terms of "normal" improv, he misfired. The nonsense and energy was still impressive in its own way though.

 

2. Acting like a child by insulting Earwolf guests is not the work of anyone whose opinion will get any respect around this classy joint.

 

Too right. The only laugh I got out of that whole segment was "Spring Dingers". Very disappointing considering the strength of the opening. At some point, shouldn't Adomian have sensed how frustrated the others were and reeled it in a bit?

[sarahride 83]

 

I'm sorry, but if anyone comes off as 'too cool',it is Tim and Eric themselves. How can you say that it was Adomian? He was trying out a character, and they were not into playing along. They suck.

 

Fudgie, you misunderstood me. I was saying that Tim and Eric were playing the too cool card, not Adomian.

[sarahride 83]

I wish we could summon the powers of Scott to clarify the reality of this podcast.

[BuddyRedman 5]

Jesus Christ people. And I thought I was a self-important asshole who gave unsolicited opinions too freely. Didn't realize so many people had taken Charna Halpern's "Improv Podcasting Analysis 398" course.