|
You have to play this mp3 whenever you read the thread: http://friendsoftom.com/themecontest/thepeoplestheme.mp3 This isn't the good or the great show. It's the BEST show. With Tom Scharpling. Via Wikipedia: The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling is a combination music, call-in, and comedy radio show hosted by Tom Scharpling on New Jersey-based radio station WFMU. The show's slogan is "Three hours of mirth, music, and mayhem." The Best Show first aired on October 10, 2000, occupying the 9pm-11pm time slot. Starting June 5, 2001, the show was expanded to three hours, filling the 8pm-11pm slot. A worldwide audience listens to the show live through WFMU's Internet stream, and many episodes are also archived on the radio station's website. The Best Show began podcasting its shows, with the music removed due to licensing restrictions, on January 26, 2006. The show has listeners and callers around the world, from the United States and Canada, to as far afield as the U.K., Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Regular callers and in-studio guests of note include Paul F. Tompkins, Todd Barry, Aimee Mann, Ted Leo, John Hodgman, and Patton Oswalt. Currently, the regular callers have been banned because many would take the novella-route in their calls and contribute little to the show. Though the ban was almost over, Wally Wackiman, a regular caller and a marionette of dubious repute, wagered that his call to the show would redeem the regular callers. However, the plan backfired incredibly, becoming one of the worst regular caller phone calls in living memory. The ban was then reinstated, from the beginning. Want to get into the show? Well, unless you have the time to listen to this 3-hour weekly show that began when Clinton was in office, the beginning isn't really the best place. I suggest you start with a few episodes from the past couple of years. Anything with guests you know, but especially the Juggalo episode with PFT. An astounding amount of references (11-years worth) will fly at you and some you will get and most you won't. But it's like a really dense, enjoyable novel: with repeated listens, you'll get more. And it is so, so worth it. Homepage: http://www.friendsoftom.com/ Archives: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/BS A FOT (Friend of Tom) realtime draws the Best Show: http://catiefromatlanta.tumblr.com/ At least once every show Tom says he's done, that this is the last show. Stay calm: he's only kidding. COUNTIN THE BILLIES fucked around with this message at 13:25 on Aug 21, 2012 |
#
?
Oct 12, 2011 16:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 05:09 |
|
|
Yes, Wallys meltdown last week was incredible. Also, Wurster has been on a roll the past few weeks.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2011 17:13
|
|
|
What's the ban on?
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2011 23:04
|
|
|
So happy there's finally a thread for this - was tempted to make one but I've only started listening regularly in the last few months so felt unworthy. Agreed that it's crazy how consistently funny the Wurster calls are (especially for a guy whose primary job isn't comedy). The Ron Furst one from a few weeks back had me breaking down all the way through. Have him or Tom ever talked much about how they're written/how much is improvised? It's obvious Tom has an idea of where the call is going and gives Wurster cues for his next lines etc., but he always has a fair few moments of what sounds like genuine surprise throughout. My favourite thing about every show is when someone (usually Wurster) mentions the AV Show Podmass bit - I'm guessing pretty much every podcaster out there knows about it but Scharpling is the only one who seems genuinely concerned by it ("You're usually found in The Rest of The Rest section").
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2011 23:15
|
|
|
indigi posted:What's the ban on? Tom banned all of his regular callers a while back in an attempt to get some fresh blood and shake things up. This has not stopped some of them from calling occasionally, causing Tom to rule on whether the call was successful or not. Failed calls invoke a reset of the ban to it's original duration for all banned callers. A few weeks back, one of the regulars, who goes by the name of Gregulator went full on pro wrestling villain mode and started talking poo poo about a variety of other regulars. The call was amazing, the Ban was not reset, and much poo poo was talked about one Wally Wackiman a felt puppet with a creaky high pitched voice. Wally called the next week (last week), and basically had a 'feltdown' on air. It was pretty amazing, but it was a terrible call. Which brings us to this past Tuesdays show, in which Tom promised a ruling on Wally's terrible call and the status of the ban. I still need to listen to this weeks, so I'll leave it to others to continue the story, or better yet, you should just pick up and listen. (If you don't want to go too far into the archives, but want to be more or less up to date on current Best Show topics and themes, I'd suggest rewinding to 9/15's episode, with John Hodgman, and listening through to today. That's 5 Best Shows, including Hodgman discussing satanic ritual for fun and profit, two phenomenal Wurster calls and another pretty damned good one, and a rather decent summary of the current status of The Ban for good measure.) Edit: We should probably put together a simple 'Getting Up To Speed with The Show' FAQ for new listeners to the OP. Basic stuff like 'Who is this Wurster dude?', 'What's the Ban?', and 'Why are all of these callers so dumb?' and introductions of a few of the more regular cast of characters would be a good start. Chevy Slyme fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Oct 12, 2011 |
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2011 23:22
|
|
|
COUNTIN THE BILLIES posted:An FOT (Friend of Tom) realtime draws the Best Show: I wish I knew about this earlier, these are great. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2011 03:10
|
|
|
TransatlanticFoe posted:I wish I knew about this earlier, these are great. Tuesday is now Wednesday...
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2011 07:21
|
|
|
To be honest, I've never really been a fan of the Wurster-Scharpling dialogues. I just tune-in for the callers and Tom's stories, mostly.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2011 08:55
|
|
|
I dont like them. I LOVE THEM. They are the highlight of the show for me. The craziness of the Newbridgeverse and the rainbow of creeps Jon Wurster is able to portray (in such a "soft G" manner) never ceases to make me laugh. The recent feltdown was quite a bit of radio. I thought Wally was pretty funny in the beginning, a puppet, on the radio, commenting on raunchy puppets, puppet matters and seemingly against his own master was sort of funny but then he just transparently became his master instead of a character.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2011 22:32
|
|
|
The Newbridgeverse is fantastically insane. I'm surprised that with all the big-name comedians on his show all the time that there hasn't been a pilot for a sitcom written by Scharpling set in Newbridge.CaptainPsyko posted:Edit: We should probably put together a simple 'Getting Up To Speed with The Show' FAQ for new listeners to the OP. Basic stuff like 'Who is this Wurster dude?', 'What's the Ban?', and 'Why are all of these callers so dumb?' and introductions of a few of the more regular cast of characters would be a good start. I had actually been working on an OP for Best Show and I was planning to include all of that, but never finished it because holy goddamn that would be alot of poo poo to write out (plus this thread got posted first, there goes my monopoly on WFMU threads.) Anyway, if you want to look at it and use some of it to make an FAQ, be my guest.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2011 01:59
|
|
|
Does anyone have any recommended episodes/recent Scharpling & Wurster bits? I haven't listened to the Best Show in over a year and I don't know where to start again.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2011 04:26
|
|
|
psychicsecession posted:Does anyone have any recommended episodes/recent Scharpling & Wurster bits? I haven't listened to the Best Show in over a year and I don't know where to start again. Episode-wise: The Four Loko Christmas Party was pretty nuts.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2011 05:14
|
|
|
Thank GOD someone started up a Best Show thread. FYI if you live in the Northeast NJ area. you're bound to bump into Tom at some point.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2011 19:36
|
|
|
Mico posted:The Newbridgeverse is fantastically insane. I'm surprised that with all the big-name comedians on his show all the time that there hasn't been a pilot for a sitcom written by Scharpling set in Newbridge. He has two projects in development with Comedy Central. One is the P.F. Tompkins Evil Genius thing, but the other one seems to have no any information on the internet about it at all. So we can hope!
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2011 20:20
|
|
|
psychicsecession posted:Does anyone have any recommended episodes/recent Scharpling & Wurster bits? I haven't listened to the Best Show in over a year and I don't know where to start again. Pulling out a self quote from my earlier wall of text. For recent converts, this is a good place to start getting up to speed: quote:(If you don't want to go too far into the archives, but want to be more or less up to date on current Best Show topics and themes, I'd suggest rewinding to 9/15's episode, with John Hodgman, and listening through to today. That's 5 Best Shows, including Hodgman discussing satanic ritual for fun and profit, two phenomenal Wurster calls and another pretty damned good one, and a rather decent summary of the current status of The Ban for good measure.)
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2011 20:22
|
|
|
psychicsecession posted:Does anyone have any recommended episodes/recent Scharpling & Wurster bits? I haven't listened to the Best Show in over a year and I don't know where to start again. S&W-wise, the August 16th one call is from Philly Boy Roy and goes really meta and hilarious. And the Roy Furst one from July 12th is incredible all the way through. No idea of time stamps but they're both super long as per usual, so pretty easy to find with a skip-through.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2011 17:07
|
|
|
I may have to get into this show. I listened to one episode on a bus ride from NH to NY. It was the Four Loko Christmas Party with Jon Hodgman and it was one of the funniest things I've ever heard. I got a long commute tomorrow morning so I think I may check out the recommended 9/15 show.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2011 05:21
|
|
|
The greatest Best Show segment of all time will always be Tom and Paul F. Tompkins riffing on the Gathering of the Juggalos. Quoting myself from the Comedy Podcast Megathread:Binowru posted:It's on this page, the one dated July 21, 2009 If you haven't heard this bit, you really owe it to yourself.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2011 21:12
|
|
|
Wally can actually be legitimately funny, check out the episode where he gets into a conversation with a Fredericks soundboard (I think it was the last episode that Jen Kirkman was in studio)psychicsecession posted:Does anyone have any recommended episodes/recent Scharpling & Wurster bits? I haven't listened to the Best Show in over a year and I don't know where to start again. The Best Show Gems podcast is a good way to listen to some classic Wurster calls. The Hammerhead one posted a few weeks ago is great.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2011 13:53
|
|
|
Binowru posted:The greatest Best Show segment of all time will always be Tom and Paul F. Tompkins riffing on the Gathering of the Juggalos. Quoting myself from the Comedy Podcast Megathread: Was there a Best Show Gems recently where Wurster was talking about going to the Gathering? The details all sounded really familiar but I'm pretty sure I'd never heard that before.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2011 01:46
|
|
|
Poopy Palpy posted:Was there a Best Show Gems recently where Wurster was talking about going to the Gathering? The details all sounded really familiar but I'm pretty sure I'd never heard that before. Rabid B. Hatchetman! They made that call the week after.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2011 02:04
|
|
|
There's a cool (and fairly long) writeup of the Best Show in the most recent issue of Spin: http://www.spin.com/articles/why-tom-scharpling-and-jon-wurster-wfmus-best-show-are-punk-genuises
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2011 20:39
|
|
|
While plugging that interview on twitter, Jon Wurster said there was no Best Show tonight (probably because Tom is off shooting a TV pilot!!).
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2011 21:16
|
|
|
Yannick_B posted:While plugging that interview on twitter, Jon Wurster said there was no Best Show tonight (probably because Tom is off shooting a TV pilot!!). Yeah its going to be another Therese and Mike "Depravity's Rainbow" episode, which was OK last time, but definitely not the Best Show. I think last time Mike talked about his shoplifting days which was entertaining.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2011 21:59
|
|
|
Billy Gnosis posted:Yeah its going to be another Therese and Mike "Depravity's Rainbow" episode, which was OK last time, but definitely not the Best Show. I think last time Mike talked about his shoplifting days which was entertaining. I usually skip these if I have other podcasts to catch up on, but they're still pretty good. I enjoyed the Spin article as well.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2011 17:00
|
|
|
I will never get tired of Tom's disdain for Mike and his kind. Also I miss Julie from Cincinnati. Have any of you guys ever called in? I've thought about it before but Tom scares me.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 06:41
|
|
|
Roosevelt posted:Also I miss Julie from Cincinnati. Who is she, anyway? A regular caller? I've only heard her on one episode and all I know is she follows a bunch of SA people on Twitter.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 06:47
|
|
|
Binowru posted:Who is she, anyway? A regular caller? I've only heard her on one episode and all I know is she follows a bunch of SA people on Twitter. Julie calls from time to time. She used to get pretty wasted and call the show a lot to talk about her dog, driving drunk, and quitting smoking, but I think she's been getting her act together and doesn't check in as often. She was actually in the studio with Tom a couple months ago. I don't really know how to describe her. She has a funny way of talking and is someone who can say "wait, whaaat" to Tom and get away with it. I kind of remember that she got to do a half-hour "Julie Show" where she interviewed Spike and/or Fredericks and the topic was sandwiches. She sounds like a five year old who got into the liquor cabinet. Roosevelt fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Oct 20, 2011 |
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 07:41
|
|
|
So yeah, the first show I listened to was the last show posted inthe archives (October 18th) and the first 24 minutes of the show was crappy intro music. :\
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 08:24
|
|
|
That's usually how it is, Tom will generally play a bunch of songs at the top of the show. If you want a music-free version go with the podcast, they have to edit out the music for licensing reasons.Roosevelt posted:Have any of you guys ever called in? I've thought about it before but Tom scares me. I don't have the guts. Maybe I'll practice on Seven Second Delay first, Ken and Andy are usually dying for calls.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 09:45
|
|
|
hohum posted:So yeah, the first show I listened to was the last show posted inthe archives (October 18th) and the first 24 minutes of the show was crappy intro music. The first time I listened to the show it was the podcast version and I was surprised to hear 3 intro songs in a row. Since they take the licensed music out, the themes that are spaced out in the normal show just play back to back to back. Honestly, if it hadn't been a show where Tom talks before the intro and I could already tell I liked him I might have given up right then. Thank god for the iphone's 'jump back 30 seconds' button, because it's really hard to scroll accurately past something on a 3 hour timeline. Also, don't start with the October 18th show. It's not even the Best Show, just a couple of fill-in hosts (the AP/call-screener of the normal show and another WFMU dj).
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 12:29
|
|
|
Back in May for a Man and Wackiman show Mike showed up for the last hour and was doing a Wally impression the entire time. It was great. The non-Tom shows are much more laid back, with callers lasting longer and acting much more natural because so many people, it seems, are afraid of saying something stupid in front of Tom. It gives Spike alot more time too, which I love for camp reasons.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 16:25
|
|
|
Speaking of which, if there are any new listeners who haven't seen what Spike looks like, you are in for a surprise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxv-RR2biYo
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 17:13
|
|
|
Narwhale posted:Speaking of which, if there are any new listeners who haven't seen what Spike looks like, you are in for a surprise:  That is incredible. I was way off.Here's a Dogmo comic 
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 17:44
|
|
|
Yeah during the Best Show Live Chat, Spike is always posting lovely liberal macros. I hope he calls into the show again soon. I need his latest take on Jenny from the Bedroom. His rule under the ban right now is, if I remember right, he has to be entertaining within 20 seconds or he's hung up on.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2011 19:07
|
|
|
Roosevelt posted:I will never get tired of Tom's disdain for Mike and his kind. Also I miss Julie from Cincinnati. I called in awhile ago. I talked to Tom about my summer plans and somehow the conversation turned to Dairy Queen. He proceded to give me the "Heave Ho" because when he asked about those push up pops, I asked if he meant the Flintstones brand. He accused me of shilling for "Hanna or Barbara" and called it his shakiest Heave Ho ever. By the way, I heard him on the phone tell me heave Ho and it was insane.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2011 03:37
|
|
|
COUNTIN THE BILLIES posted:Yeah during the Best Show Live Chat, Spike is always posting lovely liberal macros. I hope he calls into the show again soon. I need his latest take on Jenny from the Bedroom. His rule under the ban right now is, if I remember right, he has to be entertaining within 20 seconds or he's hung up on. I'm more interested to hear about Catherine Baked Ziti
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2011 05:48
|
|
|
F.F. Woodycooks posted:I called in awhile ago. I talked to Tom about my summer plans and somehow the conversation turned to Dairy Queen. He proceded to give me the "Heave Ho" because when he asked about those push up pops, I asked if he meant the Flintstones brand. He accused me of shilling for "Hanna or Barbara" and called it his shakiest Heave Ho ever. By the way, I heard him on the phone tell me heave Ho and it was insane. Wow, I remember that call! It really was one of the most unjustified gomps ever, because the call had nothing to do with hanna/barbara. Just him finding an excuse to kick someone. If you call again and talk about about push pops, I'll call after he heave-ho's you and support your argument.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2011 06:14
|
|
|
I called in a few months ago to talk about "It's Only Right and Natural" by The Frogs, which he says is his favorite album, and if time allowed I was going to talk about Sons of Anarchy for a minute. I was on hold for about twenty minutes, and I had to hang up cuz my 3 year old was being a 3 year old. Mike was a nice guy.
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2011 07:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 05:09 |
|
|
Narwhale posted:Thank god for the iphone's 'jump back 30 seconds' button, because it's really hard to scroll accurately past something on a 3 hour timeline. I've been listening regularly for a few months, and I'm most of the way through the gems backlog. I'd dipped in a little once or twice over the last few years, and the commitment (another 2.5 hrs/wk of audio) discouraged me, but it's just too good to write off. The gems and albums pretty well cover the wurster characters / newbridgeverse, but anyone have any other recommendations for amazing past eps? (Aside from PFT/juggalo and the four loko party, that is, which were both gold)
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2011 17:51
|
|
