WNYC’s nationally syndicated public radio show “On The Media” is back doing more “Media Scrutiny Theater.”
Two notes:
First, a request: some of the things they are riffing on are political commercials. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post any politics comments THERE, not here. Thank you.
Second, full disclosure: “On the Media” host Bob Garfield is pal of mine (he was offended last time when I called him an “acquaintance”).
And for you wrestling fans, there’s “Are You Serious?” Get this: “From underneath Titan Tower, Road Dogg and Josh Mathews are forced to watch some of the most appalling, unpleasant and dreadful clips found in the WWE video library.”
I am hearing positive reviews from wrestling fans. I am not a wrestling fan, and they lost me in about five minutes. Too many inside reference for the casual viewer. Your mileage may vary.
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Neither site has the delivery down, they should leave it to the pros.
Neither one of them are funny.If I want a show with silhouettes that’s a tribute or homage to MST3K,I’ll stick with Incognito Cinema Warriors XP thank you very much! The dvd’s of theirs I would recommend are “Lady Frankenstein” and “Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory”. “Bloody Pit of Horror” is pretty good,too.
On The Media’s a pretty good NPR show. I listen to it in the car. I’ve actually never heard their MST3K thing and I was surprised when I went to their website and saw the silhouettes there.
You have to be pretty funny to do MST3K right, though. It’s real easy to just be annoying so I’m a little hesitant to check it out.
“Are You Serious?” sounds like a “Cheap Seats” for the serious wrestling fan. It might limit their audience reach, but …
he was offended last time when I called him an “acquaintance”
My first thought when I read this was “that’s adorable!” But, really, I don’t quite know the best word for it … touching? Klandinktu?
WWE is just trying to shove more uninteresting social media crap down our throats. Unless you’re a wrestling fan, like me, you’re definitely not going to know what the heck they’re talking about. I personally don’t watch it because I don’t care for YouTube.
How exactly was he offended when you called him an “acquaintance”? Do you two just not speak that often?
He’s the brother of one my best friends. As Laura surmises, we don’t speak that often. But when do we are cordial and friendly. Not sure what word to use…
Media scrutiny Theater: Just not funny, worst part is they are trying to be. The concept of riffing political ads and ads is ok- but wow- way to steal mst3k graphics… and do a horrible job of it.
Are you serious just seems like a more commentary vs riffing. I believe it or not had watched half of those clips from episode 1 live… I remember them. It was more like a sports commentator watching bad clips. I would agree that they are boxing themselves into the wrestling arena though. I think they will be far more successful if they dropped the backstory that is akin to mst3k.
overall- both are swill in regards to humor
Showtime’s On Demand cable channel has an “MST3K”-ish show since last October called Dave’s Old Porn, in which comedian Dave Attell and special guests (usually porn stars like Ron Jeremy or other comedians like Whitney Cummings) riff on sexually-explicit porn scenes shown to them without context. And yes, it’s super-explicit (though they use Cinematic Titanic-like blimp thingies to cover the super-graphic naughty bits) and not for anyone under 18 (http://www.davesoldporn.com/). I find it hilarious but its despite of (not because of) the porn being the emphasis of what’s being riffed. It’s been renewed for a 2nd season so there’s more of it coming. It’s available on Showtime’s On Demand channels.
Cheap Seats was really terrible. I’m not sure how they got the actual MST3k guys to do it.
The “Are You Serious” seems more like a promotional attempt rather than having a funny show. For old timey WWE fans, some of this stuff shown will bring about a chuckle, especially the “Barber Shop” and other crazy stuff they did back in the day.
Unfortunately, the two guys doing the “riffs” are just not the right types for this kind of show. It should be quick ‘n sharp, instead it’s more like listening to your uncle while he shows his latest vacation videos.
It seems they didn’t want to offend Vince (the WWE Boss) and they definately succeeded.
Media Scrutiny Theater is, in a word, wretched. Totally unfunny and more annoying than anything else. A shameless rip off of the graphics, bad animation, poor material to riff on, the list goes on. Nothing to see here…
They’re no “Project Popcorn”…
JBagels – Aww, I love Cheap Seats! Steve Garvey, Spelling Bee’s and FLOORWAX!
This is actually not the first time the WWE has given a nod to MST3k, they did in the mid 90’s as seen here:
http://youtu.be/1sCTi31Z2jA
“Are You Serious” is okay. Equal parts MST3k, Cheap Seats, Botchamania, and Wrestlecrap. I could see it getting better with time, especially if they don’t just use clips. Clips-only was why I could never get into Cheap Seats.
I’m not interested in American politics nor wrestling, so I guess I will pass.