Hail and well-met, Earwolf Challenge-istas! First, let me apologize for the lateness of last week’s post. I was in Indianapolis for GenCon, which, if you don’t know what it is…don’t worry about it. And two weeks before that it was Comic-Con. The week in between... I’m not sure I have an excuse for that one. But as soon as I come up with an excuse for this week’s tardiness I’ll get right on it. Just realized you don’t care about any of that. Let’s get to it.
Compared to last week’s Earwolf Challenge “Recurring Segment” confusion, this week’s challenge, “Using the Guest,” has to be easier for the contestants, the judges and listeners to tackle. Right? Well, “Using the Guest” looks great on paper, but ultimately the judges have to make an awkward distinction between “good guest usage” and just plain “good.” In the end, that feels pretty unsatisfying.
Episode 5.1: Coaching Sessions
There’s a weird thing going on with this week’s Coaching Session. While talking to the seven remaining competitors, Besser frequently says something along the lines of “Hey, I’m not going to tell you guys what to do.” This would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that most of those same competitors answer the question of what they’re going to do with a nebulous “I dunno, we’ll see what happens.”
In all fairness, some do seem to have more of a plan than others. Although, those plans don’t sound like they’re about to set the Challenge on fire. The F Plus is going to invite Lou Fernandez of the Lou Reads podcast to, from the sounds of it, do exactly what The F Plus guys do. Only...as a guest. Well, okay. The Fort and Left Handed Radio write sketches for their guests, so it’s business as usual for them. The Bob and Dan Cast, The Little Dum Dum Club and Totally Laime are diving into their archives or chatting up a guest for two and a half minutes, like they always do.
Was anyone else constantly picturing a sitcom called Two and a Half Minutes during this week’s episodes? Just me? Okay, moving on…
Only Television Zombies really go out on a limb, by using a voiceover artist in what sounds like a sketch-like capacity. Besser is intrigued! Me, too. I still question what a non-comedy podcast hosted by people who find Falling Skies superior to The Walking Dead is doing in The Earwolf Challenge. But, I’m always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. The producers picked them for a reason, even if I can’t always see it.
Episode 5.2: The Challenge
Right off the top of this episode, I’m reminded of the “Theme Music and Intro” challenge from Week 2. Besser even starts out by muttering, “Let’s see how fast I can read this.” In other words, Besser’s getting tired of reciting the same four sentences at the start of every episode. Does this mean that the show’s intro is flawed? Very possibly! Why Besser’s been tasked with actually repeating this paragraph three times a week instead of relying on a recording is anyone’s guess. C’mon, give the guy a break.
Howard Kremer
Marc Maron *Photo by Mandee JohnsonThis week’s guest judges: the closest thing we have to a podcasting legend, the WTF? host Marc Maron, and...Howard Kremer. Like most people reading this, I have enormous respect for Maron and WTF? and have enjoyed watching his podcast-fueled career skyrocket over the past year or two. As a guest judge, he’s easily on par with the likes of Jimmy Pardo or Jesse Thorn.
Kremer, on the other hand, is another story. I gave Who Charted? a chance, but stopped regularly listening some time ago. Dropping in only recently for Bob Odenkirk. In short, I discovered I’m not on board. Something about Kremer just misses the mark with me. Needless to say, my expectations for the Kremer judging were low. But I’m happy to say Judge Kremer is a pleasant surprise. Sure, he’s confused at times. But so is Maron. If I’m not holding that against one of them, I can’t hold it against the other. Both guest judges offer up valuable feedback and insight on a mostly dire crop of entries from the competitors.
The Fort’s sketch epitomizes the inherent problem of the challenge. As a comedic work, it’s lazy, predictable and rather poorly performed. Maron has it right: once you hear the word “Medusa,” the rest is all downhill. The basic premise - “Girl met on Internet turns out to be Medusa!” - is weak, sure, but what’s worse is the way it insults its audience by spelling everything out instead of giving them credit to know simple things like what happens when Medusa’s gaze meets yours.
But because the challenge is “Using the Guest” and not “Producing Quality Programming,” the judges are forced to admit that Matt Braunger makes for a good straight man. The Fort gets a pass. The F Plus, The Bob and Dan Cast and TV Zombies are even worse off, pairing as they do questionable guest-utilization with unfunny material. This is especially disappointing where TV Zombies is concerned. Obviously, the Zombies’ segment was the only interesting pitch the day before. Yet, a Rich Little-esque presentation of their voice-acting guest hamstrings the whole bit from the get-go.
Left Handed Radio excursion into Twilight Zone-style weirdness is a success, despite a weak ending. The Little Dum Dum Club and Totally Laime continue to impress with their easygoing charm. I’ll agree with Besser, though. Given the chance to take any two-and-a-half-minute clip from their archives, it’s curious Elizabeth and Andy actually considered this clip their best “use” of a guest. Those sound effects didn’t help, either.
Episode 5.3: The Judgement
For this show it’s not usually a surprise who’s in the Bottom 3 any given week. This week it’s even less of one: The Bob and Dan Cast, The F Plus and Television Zombies all face the music.
It’s a pretty easy decision. At least in the first two, you can always spot the guest. In the Zombies’ segment, the very identity of the guest is in doubt the entire time, not least of which because they had him doing a couple different voices. At least, that distinction seems to be the saving grace for The F Plus. The Bob and Dan Cast are given a little credit for not being an interview/guest-having show all that often, which is something, I guess.
Again, Maron and Kremer have some great advice for the competitors, despite a brief Lee impersonation from Kremer that threatens to destroy the unsteady peace I’ve mentally established with him. (Would it be funnier if I knew Lee? I can only assume so.)
While I’m not glad to see Television Zombies go, it seemed clear from the first episode they didn’t quite fit with what the competition was about. Still, credit for hanging in this long. I know getting knocked out now won’t stop them from doing their thing.
So live long and prosper, fellow geeks. I salute you with a farewell listen to your latest episode.
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 10:26AM 
Thanks to Splitsider for linking to a recently published email exchange between Marc Maron (WTF) and Bob Lefsetz (a music industry figure and blogger). Lefsetz asks for explanation on why Maron has the pay walls he has in his podcast business and Maron does his best to answer and appease.
