Digital Refrain

Last week on WWE’s Monday Night Raw this wrestler Sheamus (guess what country he’s from?) stole a Ferrari from Alberto Del Rio. He took it on a joyride. And when he brought it back, it was downright totaled. It was intended as revenge for the assault by Alberto Del Rio and he was intended to be cheered for it.

I mean, why else would would the good guy announcer try to pass this off as just a joyride? Sheamus is the hero. Del Rio is the villain. By simple character math, we were supposed to cheer the act.

But somewhere between conception and execution? It missed. Why? Because they forgot about one of the major keys to making a quality anti-hero. Put it simply, the villain has to be worse in the audiences eyes.

Let me take you back to the days of Stone Cold Steve Austin. He got away with a lot worse, and we cheered for him. Why? He was the one who faced the monsters. Between The Undertaker and the proxies of Vince McMahon? Stone Cold could do what he wanted. Why? He was the better man. He was the more admirable man. We liked his fearlessness.

And a part of the reason why CM Punk bogged down during the middle of his title run was the fact that he was up against an ineffectual sympathetic villain in John Laurinitas. He was so goofy and that made him likeable, it softened the edges of the Punker. Whereas a guy like John Cena, while also putatively a good guy, is the sort of guy that is booked to be such a sickeningly sweet jock hero that makes CM Punk fresh and interesting.

I appreciate that the WWE is still attempting to keep the shades of gray that made their last big run of the late 90′s and today. But the thing of it is? They’ve moved back from a TV-14 rated program to a TV-PG one. A little more clarity of the morality of the good and the bad guys is a need. PG wrestling works. You all need to do a YouTube search for something called Chikara Pro. So long as it’s good, right?

But bringing it back to Sheamus? Sure. He was assaulted by a car hood. But this isn’t 1920′s Chicago, and the hero isn’t supposed to bring a gun to a knife fight. The hero can be a bit of a bully, a bit of a jerk, and may have a smug smile that some of the more smart assed fans would wish their demise. But there is one thing that must always occur if you want conflict to be successful.

The good guy must be better.

by Andrew Rosin

When I first heard that there was going to be a Bachelor parody as a web series. I thought to myself, perhaps this was not going to work. Sure, Ken Marino was involved. And he’s great. But I had concerns, and I was going to let this one pass by. I mean, for a show that already comes with a certain amount of unintentional comedy and for a bro who watched the Spike TV Parody the Joe Schmo Show? This may not have been meant for me.

That is until Ken Marino appeared with Deanna Russo and Janet Varney on a recent episode of Comedy Bang Bang. And I have to say from these three playing their Burning Love characters on the show? I was intrigued. I decided that after I watched Predator 2? I was going to make time for Burning Love.

And my friends, this is a show you need to catch up on.

Ken Marino plays Mark Orlando, someone who’s a straight shooter because he does not seem to have the brainpower to offer up subtext. And playing it completely straight makes him a tremendous protagonist for the story. Like a Leslie Nielsen from Airplane, he is honest in everything he says and does, and he will make you believe that he could actually be a conceivable contestant on a Bachelor or one of those shows.

But of course, a show like this is only as good as the contestants. And with territory such as this, you’ll have a mixture of archetypes and comic characters. From the Christian, to the lunatic, to the inspirational story, to the cougar, to the homeless one, to Ken Jeong. And while there are stars like Malin Akerman, Michael Ian Black and Kristin Bell involved, Creator Erica Oyama has given every character a moment in the spotlight. You will find yourself going to IMDB to look up someone who was previously unknown to you. I won’t reveal exactly where and when? But Beth Dover as Lexie was mine.

Did I enjoy her performance? Yes. Was I a little frightened by it? I think so. Will it make me not miss her next thing that a small town boy such as myself can get to by all legal means? Definitely.

And there are special guest stars like you wouldn’t believe. Ben Stiller, Paul Scheer, Adam Scott, other people with last names that don’t start with S but if I mention them I would ruin the surprise for you. It’s great stunt casting, but it’s not too much to overpower the main storyline.

The first episode was almost solely exposition, as the form kind of forces it to be, so many characters to introduce and all. But that being said? We are coming up on Episode 9. You can marathon a few episodes, and you can get yourself to the good stuff very quickly. And boy howdy, there’s a lot of good stuff in the first 8.

And it makes me want to see how it ends. I have an idea. But as I want you to see this. No spoilers. Go to Yahoo. Watch the darn thing.

You’re welcome.

Illustration by Mary Grace Ewald

by Andrew Rosin

I believe it was John Cleese who once said  “When you get in your teens and young adulthood…you begin to see flaws in the order. You see that these rules in your life are silly, ridiculous. And you poke at it, you make fun of it, and that’s where comedy, anybody’s comedy comes from.

But as you get even older, and hopefully wiser, you begin to see the truth. The truth that there is in fact absolutely no order at all – nobody has any idea what they are doing, at all. That religion is a lie, that politics is a lie, and morality is a lie. And that everything truly is in utter chaos.

And as soon as you realize this, well, it’s just not that funny.”

And if you think that’s a pretentious way to start a podcast review? Boy howdy, you are in for a treat. For you see? Today is the day that I’ve officially dropped my subscription to “How Did This Get Made?”

And it stems from the tone of the Podcast. Basically, you can call this podcast an incredulity off. Paul Scheer’s comedic persona is one that is generally amplified, as you can tell from his work on Children’s Hospital, Human Giant, and The League. The co-hosts (Jason Mantzoukas and June Diane Raphael) follow by bringing their energy levels up to match, and when it’s an over the top action movie like a Crank 2 or a Fast and Furious 5? It can work, and it can be funny.

But they haven’t been going down that road. This is a show that’s just as likely to “oh my God can you believe that shit a no-budget movie like Birdemic or Leprechaun in the Hood as they are to hit up a bad older movie like a Mac and Me or a Speed 2:Cruise Control.

And here’s the thing that hit me in recent weeks. Marveling in disbelief at the not-top notch filmmaking of a movie? Kind of an unnecessary way to spend my time. Most movies that manage to get made are a miracle in themselves. Especially if you put them through the Hollywood movie system. Incredulity is an ill fit. A Katherine Heigl movie was bad, VERBALLY CAPS LOCK IT TO DEATH UNTIL IT DIES.

Because here’s the thing. You don’t have sell a movie like The Room to the audience. You don’t have to have yourself at 11 to have a get over the fact that Tommy Wiseau is ridiculous.

Because he is. Obviously.

I mean, there are other podcasts with the exact same format who have been at this longer and do it so much better. I’m not going to make mention of it now. Because 500 words on why one podcast isn’t for me anymore and bringing another in toward the end of it would be rather uncouth. And even when I’m not feeling it, that’s a real dick move.

So, here’s where I’ll leave How Did This Get Made. A podcast that’s too high energy about something naturally ridiculous, and with a vestigial episode in between which just seems like busywork for Scheer. It’s a free podcast, and I have better use of my time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna watch Predator 2.

by Andrew Rosin

David Stern is one of the worst things about the NBA.

As I am one of the people who somehow resides in the world of basketball twitter. This is a statement that could very easily skew as controversial. But it’s true. He’s not Gary Bettman bad, but as he’s one of the more visible administrators in professional sports. Being as terrible as he is on interviews? It’s not a good look.

Let me explain. I’m someone who knows how to draw attention to himself with a mixture of moxie and alacrity. I was a troll once upon a time. And these days? I AM SOMEONE WHO IS UNAFRAID TO GUN TEN ALL CAPS TWEETS IN A ROW.

So I know a touch about being a glib asshole. It takes one to know one, and David Stern is one. And today, it came back out. I grant you, Jim Rome is an officious prick. But that being said? Asking if the lottery is rigged isn’t exactly the same level of douchery as his repeated attempts trying to get a rise out of Jim Everett.

And going to the rhetorical device of “Have you stopped beating your wife?” I’m not going to say it’s uncalled for? But for a show where the archetypal fan is never going to be confused for a Mensa member, rhetorical flourishes will sail skyscrapers above their heads.

But it’s funny! Hypothetical reader would respond. And perhaps it would be, if it was coming from some random troll. But allow me to explain.

DAVID STERN IS A COMMISSIONER OF A MAJOR PROFESSIONAL SPORT. TROLLING MEDIA MEMBERS ONLY BENEFITS THE MEDIA. NOT THE MAJOR PROFESSIONAL SPORT THAT HE RUNS.

I’ll explain it in punditry terms. For whatever you think of the politics they espouse, Fox News is a ratings juggernaut. You have people like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity getting millions of viewers a night. The way MSNBC started making inroads was when Keith Olbermann started attacking him for being “the worst person in the world,” and Bill would respond. Bill’s response granted Keith legitimacy. And it made MSNBC a real network. Just like this will cause only Jim Rome to get more ratings.

I’m not saying that saying shame on you for asking the question was a terrible thing. He’s right. Conspiracies are cheap thrills. But when you are in a position of power like David Stern is in, and someone punches up at you. It is always a better tactic to just give the stock response and move along.

“We have shown ourselves to be transparent in the lottery process and that question is absurd.” 16 words. You can move on. If Rome would have persisted? “We have shown ourselves to be transparent in the lottery process and that question is absurd.”

But David Stern likes punching down. And when you punch down, old saws like these conspiracy theories foment. Ewing to the Knicks becomes Davis to the Hornets. The criminal incompetence of Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals becomes the incompetence of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.Stern could have ended this discussion a long time ago.

But he keeps putting up another hook to feed the dialogue for the conspiracy theorists.

Illustration by Mary Grace Ewald

by Andrew Rosin

If you’re like me, I’m sure you know the popular podcasts of podcasting. Your Wednesday Thursday Friday with Marc Maron, your the Nerdism with Chris Hardwick, and your College Basket Ball with Scott Aukerman. But these are not the most necessary podcast. These are not, dare I say, the best podcast.

They are not the Thrilling Adventure Hour.

The conceit is simple, it’s a podcast in the style of a 1940′s radio play which are segments from a popular stage show in Los Angeles written by the writing team of Ben Acker and Ben Blacker (who also hosts a necessary for creative types podcast called The Nerdist Writers Panel). Each podcast is dotted with names you know (Nathan Fillion! Alison Brie!) as well as names you should (Craig Cackowski! James Urbaniak!).

There are two major segments to every show. The first segment on the podcast was Beyond Belief, which stars Paul F. Tompkins and Paget Brewster as those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle. Tompkins and Brewster inhabit their roles with a brio that has to make me wonder if taking a look at The Thin Man and other Nick and Nora Charles works wouldn’t be worth my time for no particular reason. These are usually singular segments, where you will see them in various spots of trouble with pop cultural monsters, from Natalie Morales’ hipster witch to James Urbaniak’s killer clown. You can pick most any Beyond Belief and you will not be disappointed. And if John Ennis is involved? So much the better.

The second segment introduced on the podcast is “Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars.” Marc Evan Jackson plays the titular marshal with a grumbling charm. You can visualize the swagger of the sheriff when he says he’s from Earth, you can be charmed with the buddy cop bickering between him and pretty much everyone from Croach the Tracker, the Red Plains Rider, the barkeep (who seems to be missing the place that for which he did not want trouble in) or various bandits, citizens, and mutants throughout Mars, and you root for him to actually spit out the emotions that he’s been feeling. These are not the one-shots that Beyond Belief are, so it helps to start from the beginning, but like Sparks’ robot fists, these will hardly ever miss.

Other segments that you can’t help but enjoy include Amelia Earhart: Fearless Flyer, in which Amelia Earhart is a time traveling Aviatrix who is the first and best line of defense against the time traveling Nazis who would dare make fight World War II out of time. The Nathan Fillion collection of Jefferson Reid: Ace American, where the Calgary native plays an alternate universe Captain America, and the Sparks Nevada spinoff Cactoid Jim! King of the Martian Frontier. And the Craig Cackowski collection of The Crosstime Adventures of Colonel Tick-Tock (in which there’s an English time-traveling science hero in the days of Upstairs-Downstairs tales of English things being English) and Tales From Moonshine Holler (about a millionaire whose renounced his riches in an effort to find the legendary hobo princess).

So now that I’ve given about 560 words as to the top-notchery of the recordings of the live stage show, I have to say that the taped segments, in comparison to the live ones, fall short. Not that they’re terrible. But they’re not as laugh inducing as the live programs. I suppose I would call them merely okay. Merely.

So long story short? Is this a great podcast? Indeed. It has a remarkable batting average of greatness, and there’s really only been a few that I would consider below their standard of quality. I would give this a five out of five. Go to iTunes. Subscribe it. Get all of them. You will thank me later.

But if you’re lazy, here are my five favorite episodes.

1) Sparks Nevada: “The Piano Has Been Thinking”
2) Beyond Belief: “The Devil and Mr. Jones”
3) Beyond Belief: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang You’re Dead.”
4) The Cross Time Adventures of Colonel Tick-Tock “The Wilde Party”
5) Jefferson Reid: Ace American “1″

Illustration by Mary Grace Ewald

by Andrew Rosin

One of the most interesting things that happened in the week of Podcasting was a certain amount of crossover between Nerdist Industries and Earwolf. On Who Charted? You heard Pete Holmes charting things with Wewe and Kulap. And on the Nerdist? Comedy Bang Bang impresario Scott Aukerman, he of the asking questions of the state of the Hot Dog.

And quite frankly? It got me to thinking. Who are my favorite guests on Podcasts? It’s rare to see someone treat podcasts as a singular, all encompassing event. And there are those guests who will run the dial more than others. So, who will be my favorite five? Find out…in two return breaks!

(Spoiler Alert: There’s not 5.)

5. Gillian Jacobs

Now I don’t want to start noise about how I think she’s better than Alison Brie, because you people are weird, and that debate is stupid. The reason why I chose Gillian Jacobs is that she’s done solid interviews regarding her process on the Choke Q&A from the Creative Screenwriting Podcast, and A Bit of Chat with Ken Plume, as well as personal conversations on the Pod F. Tompkast and The JV Club. And she shows some real strong comedic chops with her appearances on Comedy Bang Bang and in the Thrilling Adventure Hour.

4. Jon Hamm

I mean, come on. If he was an ugly bro? He’d be higher on the list. But he’s just so effortlessly good at everything. HE WHISTLED A MASH-UP OF SWEET GEORGIA BROWN AND MAD MEN FOR PETE’S SAKE.

Ahem.

3. Andy Daly and James Adomian

On Comedy Bang Bang these two are remarkable at developing characters. Andy Daly brought some spectacular one-shot characters like Hot Dog and August Lindt, and was one of the better guests on Who Charted? as well as Jordan, Jesse, Go history. James Adomian’s Jesse Ventura has always been my one of my favorite podcast-based impressions. Creative enough to be great on the air, and yet easy enough that you can do an impression of his impression.

2. Paul F. Tompkins

What? You scoff. This is Paul F. Tompkins from podcasts! This is the consistently great presence be he in character as one of his all-time classic impressions of a Boss of Cakes or TV’s Garry Mashall or as himself. (Check out Doug Loves Movies as he has two episodes where he plays himself and his characters. It’s an excellent usage of the medium).

But, and remember, this is number two out of Podcasts. He isn’t as good when the matter is something more process oriented and about him. Not that being good at talking about yourself is a character flaw, but it’s not as if we’ll look upon you crossly for doing so in a podcast we subscribed to.

1. Ben Schwartz

If you say who? I will be so exasperated with you. Schwartz is not comedian who brings a bag of  characters with him. Though he probably could if asked. After all, when Saul Goodman comes on Comedy Bang Bang, you could very well see Clyde Oberholt doing some consulting on who to make Earwolf go better. But, I will ask you these questions three.

Who was there when James Adomian unleashed his Huell Hauser impression on the world? Who was there when the question What’s Up Hot Dog was finally answered? Who was the guest for both my favorite Who Charted? as well as Makin’ It with Riki Lindholme? It was Ben Schwartz.

Did I miss one? Probably. 5 guests out of Podcasting is something of a crapshoot. Throw out a comment if you wish to be so bold.

And seriously? Search out the Ben Schwartz episode of Makin’ It. Necessary for any aspiring creative type. And it’s the closing paragraph, so you know I’m serious.

Illustration by Mary Grace Ewald

by Andrew Rosin

If you don’t know me, one of the things I love more than anything is Podcasts. If you ever looked at my iTunes? You’ll see me with around 40 podcasts. Now before you scoff? Some of these belong to the realm of the semi-regular. I mean, the Pod F. Tompkast or the Tobolowsky files do not require you to do too much listening. But as I’m sure some of you are like, “what’s a podcast?” I’ll be willing to take you through my iTunes and throw some of my podcasts up for review.

Why am I going to start with You Made It Weird? Because it’s a Podcast that conflicts me.

The largest strength of the show? The host. Pete Holmes has a genuine enthusiasm for pretty much anything. It’s one of the things that allows this admitted WTF clone (Holmes himself has called the Podcast “What the Heck?”) to thrive on its own. And it allows you to share in his inside jokes. Download and listen to the Patrick Hayes episode and you’ll never look at the phrase “not feeling it” the same way again.

Another major strength of the show is that no subject is out of bounds. Holmes is willing to allow himself to be the subject of a section of the podcast. And he’s willing to, for lack of a better term, be roasted. While it didn’t work as well for me, an example of that would be the second podcast with Chelsea Peretti. The one that worked for me was the second episode of the show with T.J. Miller. May seem ironic that an actor of Yogi Bear would call out Pete Holmes for his TV Writing choices, but in context it works. Listen to the episode, and it will hook you beyond a shadow of a doubt.

And the best recent episode? Bo Burnham from last week. It was a lengthy one. But the discussion of seeming effeminate as a heterosexual male was a road that few podcasts will go down. It’s exactly what Holmes was hoping for when the show started. Despite the fact that he decided to get rid of the “3 weird things structure.”

Clearly, I like the podcast. So why am I conflicted?

One of the few Podcasts I dropped despite the talent of the host and his team was The Todd Glass Show. They had moments where it was spectacular, but the length of the Podcast began to cause me to lose attention. And if I’m going to listen to a podcast, if you start to tune out, there’s something wrong. And with this podcast? It’s getting to be a time suck.

The initial episodes were between an hour and an hour and fifteen minutes. Perfect length. Dead solid perfect. Even when it made a move to two episodes a week? The early episodes were still great lengthwise. To put it in the vernacular. I was feeling it.

Now? I like the show enough that I want to listen to every episode. Chris Thayer had about 51 minutes of greatness in it. But that was a 2 hour plus show. Within the filler of recent episodes? I can find myself listening to another podcast. I mean the Nerdist Podcast puts up three a week that are less of a time suck. A dash of structure to the podcast will likely prove to be a pound of cure.

But that being said? If you’re someone who does not have a lot of podcasts in your life? This is a strong addition. Feed it in chunks, and you will most definitely be satisfied. But on the whole? This is a podcast that used to be a 5 out of 5 for me, and now it’s under a 4.

And if it becomes a Podcast that’s not for me anymore? I will be sad.