Plop of The Week: Doug Loves Movies

The holiday week is no reason to skip over some quality comedy podcast listening time. Another member of the Splitsider comedy podcast crew and I took the opportunity to offer a bit of recodnition for the original "plopper" himself, Doug Benson. With two episode picks making the Splitsider "This Week In Comedy Podcasts" list, Benson receives a little bit of well-deserved internet love for his nonstop content factory. Here's my write-up for his fun recent New York City taping of Doug Loves Movies:

Michael Ian Black, Jason Mantzoukas, Dave Hill, Nikki Glaser The comedy podcast bounty often leads to missing out on some of the classics. (My 2012 low-grade shame.) Doug Loves Movies is one such show that shouldn’t be missed for too long, as it's one of the most consistently fun listens. It's always packed with obnoxious guests ready for the games and heavy riffing. And the special live DLM episodes, not recorded at Los Angeles’ UCB Theatre, often treat listeners with extended games and extended guest dicking around. Black and Hill waste no time getting into a “who’s book is better” argument, which, of course, turns into a stellar smart-ass-off. Mantzoukas stands out amongst the stand-ups with his extended shitting on Prometheus and the creation of his fake jerking-off-during-movies app. Mantzoukas also starts up a classic sweaty, sexy dolphin riff circle with his fellow guests. Benson sneaks in a quality emotional outburst about talking teddy bears. The games eventually get going leading to some semi-serious brainstorming and failed gamesmanship. Bad jokes, obnoxiousness, movie talk and overall inappropriateness abound in this particularly packed episode of Doug Loves Movies.

Along with the Benson double dip, the Splitsider crew picked the latest Superego and a few other interesting episodes:

How Did This Get Made? #40 "Judge Dredd" – Erica Oyama
Doug Loves Movies “Live from the Gramercy Theatre in New York City” – Michael Ian Black, Jason Mantzoukas, Dave Hill, Nikki Glaser
Superego Episode 3:14
Storyworthy - Blaine Capatch
The Benson Interruption # 17 "Live at the Del Close Marathon" - Matt Besser, Megan Beuringer, Matt Walsh, Rory Scovel

The Splitsider crew rolled out a few quality Honorable Mentions this week, including Fitzdog Radio (Jay Mohr), Guys With Feelings #114 (Lena Dunham), The Champs (Retta), The Long Shot #515 (Graham Elwood) and Two Charted? #21.

Plop of The Week: Superego #3:13

Last week's Splitsider duties, picking an episode from the comedy podcast bounty, was a simple choice. Beginning of the month usually means it's time to dive head first into screwball fun with the release of the newest Superego. This month, the "doctors" offered up another offbeat dose of fun. Here's my write-up for Jesse Fox's Splitsider "This Week In Comedy Podcasts" post:

The futuristic and retro, all-at-once, audio sketch show delivers another absurd episode, bursting at the seams from an abundance of silly situations and insane non sequiturs. Superego 3:13 is another quick-hitting example of inspired comedy. The guys treat us to another "Star Wars Squadron" radio talk clusterfuck. During the stream of Star Wars riffing, there’s another dead-on Alec Guinness impersonation with an obnoxious guest appearance by Obi-Wan’s needy and instructional ghost. The night out with Shunt McGuffin and Herve Villechaize is an overload of inappropriateness. The Buffrum’s Fragrance Counter ladies show up again, staying oblivious and gleefully rude to all customers. Another bit of inspired comedy is born from the Leffingwell Grocers grocery store announcement speaker system. The Superego guys find another great audio-specific setting for streaming more absurd characters to your brain. Bonus points for the pop music interludes during the grocery store announcements. The unofficial Superego team member at this point, Paul F. Tompkins, continues to be one of the most versatile performers in comedy. Superego is always an open house for great performers. In addition to Tompkins, this month's guests include Andy Richter, Gillian Jacobs, Erinn Hayes, Chris Tallman, James Bladon, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Nick Ciarelli and Amanda Lund. Again, Superego, is on its own planet comedy-wise and continues to outshine its modest podcasting roots. It’s short but packed with great comedic work. Few projects consistently deliver like this obnoxious and inspired bit of gold. Go Superego Go.

The rest of the Splitsider crew showed some love for an ecclectic mix of shows. Here's the complete list:

Risk! #329 – Kurt Braunohler
Big O and Dukes "Summer Brew Preview"
improv4humans #29 – Adam McKay, Chris Gethard
Superego 3:13
Chillpak Hollywood Hour #264 – French Stewart
Making It With Riki Lindhome #46 - Robert Ben Garant
Podcast on a Plane (“a co-production of Ari Shaffir’s Skeptic Tank and The Joe Rogan Experience”)

The Splitsider group chose the following episodes as honorable mentions this week out: Comedy Bang! Bang! #161 (Reggie Watts, Tim Heidecker, Andy Daly, Jon Daly), Dream Tweet – Jimmy Pardo vs. Kimmy Gatewood, How Was Your Week? #65 (Eddie Pepitone, Paula Pell), The Marc and Tom Show #2 and You Made It Weird #55 (Jenny Slate).

Another List! Mashable's Comedy Podcast Picks

Christine Erickson over at Internet-riffic, Mashable, shared another quality list of comedy podcasts. Presumeably, it's another intro to friends, letting the world know about comedy podcasts existing. Nothing wrong with that. They even included Janey Varney's new Nerdist Show, The JV Club. Here's the list:

The Nerdist
WTF with Marc Maron
How Was Your Week?
Comedy Bang! Bang!
You Made It Weird
Pod F. Tompkast
Never Not Funny
Superego
Pop My Culture
The JV Club

Check-out the complete post over at Mashable.

Plop of The Week: The Bugle #185

Wow. Talk about neglecting my internet duties for a bit. Here's my pick and excerpt for the Splitsider comedy podcast round-up from the week of March 5th. Another solid Bugle episode. In all honesty, I could save myself time most weeks and just pikc The Bugle and be done with it. It's that consistently funny, smart and biting. That's the kind of comedy we need more of online and real life. Better late than never, here's my thoughts on Bugle #185 for Jesse Fox Splitsider "Week In Comedy" podcast round-up:

Connecting to comedic rage is always a fun way to commune with your fellow man, albeit an obnoxious fellow man. Or men. John Oliver and Andy Zaltman keep offering up a high dose of politically-minded disdain, always at an impressive clip. Episode #185 of The Bugle is a quick-paced jaunt back and forth between quality political satire and good ol’ self-deprecating anecdotes. Oliver and Zaltman go after London’s mad-dash Olympic Games preparations. Zaltman continues to impress with his rapid-fire joke delivery and Oliver relays more artful rage-filled sarcasm. The guys mix in some fun bickering between each other with their usual political barbs. The Bugle still being recently independent from their Murdoch-led newspaper overlord causes Oliver to lament his lack of joy slamming his old corporate podcast boss. He muses over the fruitlessness of going after their new web boss, Soundcloud. The guys even throw in a fun metaphor-laden debate over the various types of political self-interest. Plus, there’s a mundane German parliament Sudoku scandal of underwhelming proportions, among many more stories and riffs. A ton of goodness in well less-than an hour. It’s all dealt with swiftly and soundly by The Bugle duo, the seminal force in political comedy. Long live the rage.

The complete list of picks from the Splitsider crew for the week of March 5th. The gang gave a needed shout-out to Rogan's show and the lot of creative-pushing shows:

The Joe Rogan Experience #190 - Greg Fitzsimmons
The Pod F. Tompkast #16 – Judy Greer, Gillian Jacobs, Jen Kirkman
The Bugle #185 “Burning Rings of Steel”
improv4humans #16 - Chad Carter, Katie Dippold, Gil Ozeri
Professor Blastoff #44 "Kung Fu" - Christian Everhart
Superego #3:12 - Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, Paul F. Tompkins

Honorable Mentions include Ten Minute Podcast “Deadly Animals,” The Dana Gould Hour #3 “Jailbirds” (Eddie Pepitone, Matt Weinhold), The Mike O'Meara Show #527 “Continue to Water the Garden,” This Week With Larry Miller “Larry’s Little White Lie,” Uhh Yeah Dude #313 and Walking The Room #93 “Spitting Out Homeless and The Wig.”

The AV Club: Podmass January 26 - February 1

Here we go again - another healthy week of digital comedy offerings. The A.V. Club continued to keep track of all things pop culture, including their favorite podcasts. Again, the comedy shows win out for the most part. The A.V. Club elders also took the time to introduce themselves and their readers to Sara Schaefer and Nikki Glaser's show, You Had To Be There. Doug Loves Movies pulled off the WTF double dip for the week. Here are the comedy episodes making the cut from the latest Podmass offering: 

The Best Show On WFMU
The Bugle #180 "The Truth About Lies"
Doug Loves Movies - Paul F. Tompkins, Garry Marshall, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber
Doug Loves Movies - Chris Hardwick, Tom Lennon, Greg Proops, Samm Levine
How Was Your Week? “What Someone’s Mom’s Idea of a Nightclub Is” - David Cross, Eliot Glazer
Monday Morning Podcast
The Nerdist #163 - Bob Odenkirk
Never Not Funny #1008 - Kevin Pereira
Scott Free #15 "Looking For Love"
Sklarbro Country #79 "Sloppy Lady Junk" Tom Scharpling, Chris Cox
Stop Podcasting Yourself #202 - Kaitlin Fontana
Superego #3:11
Uhh Yeah Dude #308
Walking The Room #88 "Arm Rest Battle and The Power Move"
Who Charted? #61 "Time Traveling Skrillex" - Jason Mantzoukas
WTF With Marc Maron #248 - Paul Feig
You Made It Weird #17 - Eugene Mirman

Plop of The Week: Superego #3:11

Let's get to it! I finally snuck in there with the Splitsider podcast crew and snagged a chance to shower some love (not as dirty as it sounds) on the Superego crew for their latest episode. Their show continues to push the envelope in the digital audio realm, dig in deeper on its own brand of comedy and seemlessly continue to work guests into their improvised sketch fold. Basically, it's damn funny offbeat shit. Here's my feedback on the episode for the weekly Splitsider "Week In Comedy Podcasts" post, headed up by the Jesse Fox.

Superego, the improvised sketch show with the most fun audio production around, returned with another collection of awesomely fun mind-fucking case episodes. Show creators, Jeremy Carter and Matt Gourley, along with Mark McConville and Jeff Crocker, are hitting their comedic stride with Superego’s brand of nonsensical riffing and clever premises. This episode features the simple oddity of Mudge Coughlin relaxation screaming bits, a movie star press conference sketch firing away silly questioners and with even sillier questions and the Buffrum’s Fragrance Counter sketch that could quite possibly gleefully go on forever. Highlights this time out are the “wonderful trip down mental health lane” from the silly and supremely weird “Hashimoto Wellness Labs Test” and the nerd-tastic “Brown X-Wing Squardron” Star Wars riffing. Special guests include: Paul F. Tompkins, Patton Oswalt, Colin Hanks, Chris Tallman, Mike Rock and James Bladon. Watch out for Bladon’s spot-on and fun Obi-wan Kenobi: it’s a gem. Superego continue to refine their audio and comedy skills and push the envelope of the medium with awesomely fun odd-ball creations that could only truly exist in the podcast realm. Yet again, it’s a weird and fun trip.

The other picks from the Splitsider crew this week:

The Todd Glass Show #29 – Rory Scovel, Mike Koman
Earwolf Presents: Analyze Phish #4
Superego #3:11 – Paul F. Tompkins, Patton Oswalt, Colin Hanks, Chris Tallman, Mike Rock, James Bladon
Here’s The Thing - Lorne Michaels
Doug Loves Movies - Paul F. Tompkins, Garry Marshall, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber

Honorable Mentions this week out: Sklarbro Country #79 (Tom Scharpling, Chris Cox), StarTalk Radio Season 3, Episode 1: Live At The Bell House (Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, John Dogman, Mike Massimino), The Dork Forest #98 (Michael McDonald & Mike Phirman), The Morning After…Podcast #63 (Courtney Page, Eric Andre), Who Charted? #61 (Jason Mantzouks) and You Made It Weird #19 (Chris D’Elia).

The AV Club: Podmass 2011 Picks

Not to be left out of end of the year list making, the A.V. Club podcast elders offered up a voted-on Top Ten Podcast list for 2011. Comedy overwhelmingly won the year with 9 out of the 12 shows mentioned being Plop List directory shows. A few of the flagship shows made the list, including WTF, Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Nerdist, Best Show on WFMU and Pod F. Tompkins. The A.V. Club also included a few dissenting podcast thoughts from its contributors. Thankfully there was at least somebody over there giving Jimmy Pardo's Never Not Funny a little bit of love. Here's the A.V. Club final 2011 list:

10: Mike And Tom Eat Snacks
9 (tie): The Thrilling Adventure Hour
9 (tie): Superego
9 (tie): The Tobolowsky Files
8: The Bugle
7: The Mental Illness Happy Hour
6: This American Life
5: The Nerdist
4: The Best Show On WFMU
3: Comedy Bang! Bang!
2: The Pod F. Tompkast
1: WTF With Marc Maron

Check-out the complete Podmass year-end post here.

Splitsider Goes Rogue With Its Year-end Round-up

Splitsider's Jesse Fox posted a great year-end recap of comedy podcasts this past week. In lieu of a top whatever list, Fox rolls out a random assortment of superlatives for some of his favorite shows both old and new. Shows recieving recognition include:

Who Charted?
How Was Your Week?
Here's The Thing
Superego
Gelmania
You Made It Weird
improv4humans
The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table

        

It's great to see Fox recognize the shows pushing the creative limits available to the podcast format. It shows it's not always about the guys sitting shooting the shit. Although, that's fun, too.

2012 SF Sketchfest Packs In The Podcasts

The SF Sketchfest announced its lineup for its 2012 fest, including a slew of quality comedy podcasts offering up live recording shows. The comedy festival highlights sketch comedy and much more over several weeks, January 19 through February 4th to be exact. I'd venture to say this may be the greatest concentration (over a few weeks, albeit) of live comedy podcast shows at one festival. Congrats to all the shows making the San Francisco trek. Even more so - congrats to all the lucky digital comedy fans in the area. Tickets are on sale here.

With so may great podcasts at the fest, you might as well just check-out the full list:

SModcast
WTF with Marc Maron - Geoff Bolt, Will Durst, Pete Holmes, Arden Myrin and Laraine Newman
The Nerdist - Guests TBA
Doug Loves Movies - Guests TBA
The Benson Movie Interruption: Road House - Guests TBA
Never Not Funny - Pat Francis, John Slattery
Kevin Pollak's Chat Show - Guests TBA
The Smartest Man in the World Proopcast
Walking The Room
Superego - Paul F. Tompkins
Pop My Culture
RISK! - Steve Agee, Robert Ben Garant, Nikki Glaser, Joshua Grannell, Myq Kaplan, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Natasha Leggero, Rick Overton, Sheng Wang and more

For the full 2012 lineup, check-out www.sfsketchfest.com or follow the fest on Twitter (@SFSketchfest).

The AV Club: Podmass December 1-7

The A.V. Club elders did their thing again. You know that thing? The one where they consume a shitload of media and entertainment and then act all knowledgeable about it, maybe even with a little better-than-the-rest-of-us vibe? Yeah, that thing. Honestly, I'm always in awe of the output of their staff. Even if it's all a lie, they do a damn good job of lying to us.

They also took the time to check-out two new shows (new to them): You Made It Weird and The Dork Forest. Both are quality shows with distinct outputs compared to their peer shows, thanks in large part to their great hosts (Pete Holmes and Jackie Kashian, respectively).

Their Podmass picks for favorite podcast episodes are again comedy dominated with many of the usual suspects. A few more selections than the last week out: 

The Best Show On WFMU
The Bugle #174 "Britain’s Back Baby!"
How Was Your Week? #39 “Horror-curious” - Nick Kroll, Gabe Liedman
Judge John Hodgman #43 "Triple Word Scorn"
The Nerdist #147: Jimmy Pardo
Sklarbro Country #71 "Sklarbros And Sklarhos" Tom Segura, Chris Cox
The Smartest Man In The World "Crackers"
The Sound of Young America - Carrie Fisher
Superego #3:10
Uhh Yeah Dude #300
Walking The Room #80 "Fashion Fight and The Horse Ending"
Who Charted? #53 "Ace Of Baritone" - Myq Kaplan
WTF With Marc Maron #232 - Henry Phillips

Check-out the complete Podmass recaps here.