Cloves and Fedoras: If You Love 90's Television, Check Out the Podcast "Raised By TV"
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Cloves and Fedoras is SeedSings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture. Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.
As you all know I am always on the hunt for new podcasts to listen to. I mostly do sports podcasts, but I am also always looking for new comedy podcasts. I also like podcasts that are hosted by people that I enjoy on other podcasts that I listen to.
When it was announced that Jon Gabrus and Lauren Lapkus were going to do a podcast together, I was fully on board. I love them both on their many podcast appearances. The funny thing is, I don't listen to either of their own podcasts. I used to listen to "High and Mighty", Jon Gabrus' show on Feral, but I just couldn't get into it. I have not tried "With Special Guest" yet, but maybe I will one day in the future. But, when they appear on, most notably for me, "Comedy Bang! Bang!", it is always a must listen. Lauren Lapkus plays a bevy of characters on that show, and all of them are great. She is absolutely hilarious, and one of the best improvisors in all of comedy. My favorite characters she plays are Traci Readon, one of Scott Sukerman's many interns, and Ho Ho the Naughty Elf. I am also a fan of Todd, Scott's nephew. She does these people so well and I always have a big smile on my face when I see she is going to be a guest on "CBB". Jon Gabrus only plays one character on "CBB", but Gino the Intern is a god damn delight. He is another one of Scott's interns. Gabrus is so god damn funny as Gino. His blue comedy, his interruptions, his running the soundboard, basically everything he does is comedy gold. Of all of Scott's interns, Gino is, by far, the best. I wish he was on "CBB" every week. But, alas he is not.
Like I was saying earlier, about a month or so ago it was announced that Lapkus and Gabrus were going to be teaming up to do a new show on the Earwolf Network. I was rapped with anticipation. I was telling pretty much everyone I know how much I was looking forward to these 2 comedy giants doing a show together. We got a little preview a little over a month ago, and while that was great, it made me want more. Now, for the past 5 Tuesday's, we have gotten 5 new episodes of their show, "Raised By TV".
The premise of the show is that these 2 adults, in their early 30's, will sit down and talk about any type of TV that they watched as kids. This is so perfect for someone like me because, while I wasn't raised by TV, I do have some great memories of shows that I watched in the 90's. I'm also roughly the same age as the 2 of them, so the references are easily noticeable to me. In the premiere of "Raised By TV", Lapkus and Gabrus sat down and just discussed the outline of the podcast. There would be no characters. It was just going to be the 2 of them reminiscing about the TV they remember from childhood. They decided in the first episode that they were going to do theme episodes. And, true to form, that is what the next 4 episodes have been. They have done commercials, game shows, cartoons, and most recently, TGIF. All four episodes have been truly wonderful. They have brought up stuff that I had forgotten, and now, floods my memory with some great stuff.
For example, the commercials episode made me remember Mr Bucket and Crossfire. These were 2 commercials that were always on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. They also mentioned Bubble Tape commercials, and of course I remembered that it was "6 feet of bubble gum for you, not them". During game shows they talked about everything that I watched on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. "Double Dare", "Legends of the Hidden Temple" and "Guts" were main themes. I vividly remember those 3 shows. I also remember how much I wanted to be on those shows, just like them. When they talked cartoons, I wasn't as hip to some of the stuff because I only ever really watch "The Simpsons". But, they did bring up "Rugrats" and "Ren and Stimpy", both of which I am very familiar with. They have done some deep, deep dives on shows that I can't recall, but someone like my wife, who watched a ton of TV, remembers fondly.
During their episode this week, "TGIF", I was taken aback at how much I had forgotten about that lineup. And what a lineup it was. They mentioned "Family Matters", "Step By Step" and "Perfect Strangers". I watched all three of those shows religiously on Friday nights as a kid, especially "Family Matters". They talked about that show with as much regard as I would like to remember it being.
They end every episode with a reading from the "very special" episodes of some famous 90's shows. They have tackled Jesse Spano's pill addiction, a death on "Growing Pains" and when Will, from "Fresh Prince" gets abandoned by his dad one last time. These are always very funny, and it may be my favorite part of every episode so far.
"Raised By TV" is a homerun. I'm so happy that Lauren Lapkus and Jon Gabrus are doing a podcast together. I'm also very happy that it is about a subject I am very familiar with. They've only done 4 episodes so far, and each is under an hour, so it is easy to catch up on. I cannot wait to see where they go from here. I'm so excited for the future of this great new podcast. Go give it a listen, especially if you are a child of the 90's.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Want to hear Ty reminisce about his childhood? Check out his look at all things 1996, 1999, and 2008.
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