The Best Podcasts of 2017

For my final top 5 list of 2017 I’m going to tackle podcasts. I’m not going to do shows per say. Instead I’m going to talk about specific episodes of podcasts I listen to, the return of some podcasts and new ones I have just recently discovered, or just started. I should mention, the majority of what I listen to is sports podcast, but there isn’t one single sports related show or episode in my top 5. I also excluded the “X Millennial Man” podcast because it’s the greatest podcast ever, and I happen to cohost it as well. In fact, comedy, my other favorite podcast genre, is what fills my list. I love to laugh, and comedy podcasts have been pretty great this year. Let’s get to it.

At number 5 I have the newest podcast on my list, and that is the premiere of “Raised By TV”. I’ve talked at length about this show. It’s hosted by Lauren Lapkus and Jon Gabrus, 2 of my favorite improv podcasters, and they deep dive into different topics that they recall from 90’s TV. This is a perfect show for someone like me because, while I wasn’t raised by TV, I can relate to 99 percent of what they talk about. I remember the commercials, game shows, TGIF and the very special episode readings they do at the end. This is one of the funniest new shows to come out this year. I also enjoy how neither Lapkus or Gabrus play characters, or take notes. It’s just them and the stuff they remember. “Raised By TV” is definitely worth checking out for anyone that grew up watching 90’s television.

At number 4 I have any time Bone and Chief Queaf show up on an episode of “Comedy Bang! Bang!”. These are 2 sisters, played by men, and they are riotous. Chief Queaf has a pretty wild backstory. She travels across the world trying to track down Carmen Sandiego. There’s another 90’s reference for you kids out there. She can never find her, and claims to hate her, although, she may be in love with her. Every time Chief says, “Gumshoes!”, I crack up. The only person I think Chief Queaf despises more than Carmen Sandiego is her sister Bone Queaf. Bone is loud and proud and sassy. Every time she says her name she has to explain it. For example, Bone will say, “my name is Bone Queaf. That’s Bone, like a steak, and Queaf(sorry Mom and Dad), like a pussy fart”. She does this every time, and it works every time. The relationship between the 2 is pretty hilarious, and when I see that they are going to be on “CBB”, I drop whatever podcast I’m listening to, and start that one.

At number 3 I have the glorious return of “ Womp It Up”. We’ve had to wait for a year and a half for Chardog and Wompler, but they’re back and better than ever. First off, Lennon Parham and Jessica St Clair are improv geniuses. And these 2 characters they created a few years back on “CBB” are 2 of their best. “Womp It Up” finds Wompler and Chardog interviewing local students and teachers at the high school they go to in Marina Del Rey. The people they get to be guests are awesome. Actors like Seth Morris, Paul Scheer, Casey Wilson and Jason Mantzoukas are just perfect in this format, especially Mantzoukas. He’s a gem on “ Womp It Up”. It’s bittersweet that this show is back on. Parham and St Clair’s excellent, and extremely underrated TV show, “Playing House” was cancelled, so I think they decided to go back to podcasting until they get another idea for a show. I am happy that “Womp It Up” is back though.

At number 2 I have my personal discovery of “My Dad Wrote A Porno”. I wrote about this podcast a few months ago, and it is still as cringeworthy and funny as ever. The premise is amazing. The fact that the main host is reading his own father’s erotic stories is a riot. The 2 other hosts add the exact amount of confusion and laughter that I would have if I were in their same situation. To hear the host read “Belinda Blinks” is so great. And I love that his 2 friends continually remind him that this is his own father’s writing. This podcast was recommended by a friend, and I am now indebted to him for life. I laugh harder at this show than any on my list. Go listen to “MDWAP”, and then try to imagine this being your father’s writing and reading it to your friends. It only enhances the listening experience.

And at number 1 I have the “ How Did This Get Made” re release of their “The Room” episode with added interviews with the cast of “The Disaster Artist”. This was a dream podcast for me. The main reason I first watched “The Room” was because of what I heard the hosts of “HDTGM” say the first time they covered the movie. That podcast lives in lore for me now. The fact that they had Greg Sestero on, you may know him as Mark from “The Room”, made it that much better. To hear the stories he told about working on that movie was amazing. Listening to it again made me smile. Then, after they replayed their original episode, Paul Scheer took it upon himself to interview people from “The Disaster Artist”. He’s in the movie, he’s great in it by the way, so it was pretty cool of him to get these people on mic. He got James and Dave Franco to sit and talk with him for about 10 minutes. Seth Rogen and the actress that played Lisa in “The Disaster Artist” gave him a good 5 minutes. Tom Bissell and his writing partner, Bissell co wrote “The Disaster Artist” book and movie, talked about their relationship with “The Room” and “The Disaster Artist”. But, the creme de la creme was getting Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero to sit down for 5 or so minutes. It went as crazily as you can imagine. The fact that Scheer and “HDTGM” did this was a pure delight. This is a podcast I will go back to and listen to many, many more times. It is so awesome.

Well, there you have it. Those are my top 5 podcasts/podcast moments/podcast characters of 2017. This wraps up my best of 2017. I hope everyone has a good holiday, and I will be back with new content on the 26th.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is thinking about using part of 2018 doing some podcasts about the erotic stories from the  head editor. Who wants to hear all about GI Joe / Star Wars dirty fanfic?

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Playing House"

This past Friday "Playing House" returned to our television sets. I was so thrilled to see this show again after the long layoff. I was confused why it took so long for season three to come back on, but after hearing about Jessica St. Clair's battle with breast cancer, it all made sense. I have heard that the cancer is going to be a storyline, and I bet that they will tackle this tough subject matter in a very proper, yet very funny way. Both Parham and St. Clair are comedic geniuses. they are skillful actors, great improvisersand exceptional writers. I know they will create something magical when they get to the cancer story arc of this season.

With that being said, the first 2 episodes of season three did not touch on that subject, yet I still loved them as much as I loved all the episodes from the first 2 seasons. The first episode started with both Parham and St. Clair at a mommy self defense class. This whole bit was a riot. Parham was one of the stars of the class, and she used St. Clair as her partner, whom she deployed her newfound strength on. It was all played for great laughs. The instructor of the class was hilarious too. She was a total badass that, upon hearing Maggie(Parham) and Emma's(St. Clair) story of how they came together, she pauses for a moment and points at them aggressively and tells the whole class, "this is what true friendship looks like. I want you all to admire this". She then goes back to kicking ass.

It is later found in the episode that Maggie's ex husband, Bruce(Brad Morris), has a new girlfriend, and it is the self defense instructor. Maggie is thrown off by this, not because she still has feelings for Bruce, but because she is the only one on her core group without a signifigant other. Emma and Mark(Keegan-Michael Key) are officially a couple as well, after the season 2 cliff hanger. The story of the 2 of them trying to be intimate with each other,  but they both have concerns over their aged bodies, the motto of the episode seemed to be, "this is 40", was very funny. They do eventually get intimate, and they both love it.

Later on, Maggie has a big freak out at a party she has at her house for Bruce, his new girlfriend and Emma and Mark. They are playing a game where they guess movies with vague clues and she gets "Home Alone", and the party guests are all saying that she is alone, that no one except an old man likes her, that she has been forgotten, everything from the movie, and she blows up.

After Maggie's moment, her and Emma have a great moment in the kitchen, and things seem to be smoothed over. I love this about the show. Their moment doesn't seem hacky or tacked on for sympathy sake. Parham and St. Clair are lifelong friends, so their conversations, even in their characters, seems so real.

There was a second episode immediately after the first, and this one finds Emma and Tina, AKA "Bird Bones"(Lindsay Sloane), Mark's ex wife, trying to smooth things over after all that has happened. Tina says she is okay, but she looks like she is on razors edge. She isn't so much mad at Emma as she is overwhelmed with her new career. She has unfortunately gotten involved with a pyramid scheme, even though she keeps saying that she is a business woman. This leads Emma, after profusely apologizing for being with Mark, to try and help. She was a big time business woman herself before she moved back to help with Charlotte, Maggie's baby. She thinks she can take down the head of this pyramid scheme. This only leads to her being too cocky and deciding that she is going to prove to this lady that she can sell all the product. I know, it sounds like your typical sitcom nonsense, but again, all the people involved, mainly Parham and St. Clair are so sharp witted and funny, they make this seemingly typical story line absolutely hilarious. When Emma applies lip balm to Maggie, and it makes her swell up because she is allergic to bees, it was gold. Tina's constant flip flopping of emotions was great and funny. Emma's hubris, then realizing she had screwed up, it was all very well done.

Maggie's other story arc of the episode involved her and another nurse working with a new doctor, possibly Maggie's love interest for the season, who was very cold and no nonsense. The scenes with all three of them, Maggie, the male nurse and the doctor, are comedy gold. The scenes with just Maggie and the male nurse might have been even better. It was all great.

I'm beyond thrilled that "Playing House" is back. I've been a fan of this show from day one, and I've been a fan of Parham and St, Clair since I have been listening to podcasts. I highly recommend this show for everyone. It hits all the comedy marks that one could want out of a 30 minute sitcom, and they hit them so much better than any piece of garbage on CBS. I love this show so much and I cannot wait to watch it again on Friday. "Playing House" is a must watch TV show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time went to a daddy self defense class. After hearing the rules, Ty figured out he was at a fight club.

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"Playing House" is one of the best comedies on television

USA has to be on the UHF band

Last week season two of "Playing House" premiered on the USA Network.

I was out of town and my wife and I were unable to watch. We got back from our trip last night and not only were we able to see the season premiere on On Demand, but we got to see the next two episodes as well. "Playing House" is back and it's just as good as the first season. Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair are comedic geniuses. Not only are they excellent comedy writers, but they're phenomenal actors. They're both so funny and their chemistry is great. It's easy to see that they are best friends in real life.

USA is a great network for this show to be a part of. St. Clair and Parham had a show on NBC a couple of years ago, but it wasn't a good fit. USA lets them take chances and they let the show be a bit risqué. In the three episodes we saw last night I heard them say asshole and shit. That doesn't happen on channels like NBC. I feel, and I think they'd agree, that the cancellation from NBC was the best thing for them. This opened up the possibility of doing the show they wanted on a network that would let them take chances. USA hit a home run by putting "Playing House" on the air. They scored even more points for me when they renewed it for a second season.

In season one, we all know that Emma(St. Clair) left her high powered job in China to move home to help a very pregnant Maggie(Parham) get ready for the birth of her baby. We also found out that Maggie's husband, Bruce(Brad Morris) was cheating on her, so she needed her friend more than ever. In the season two premiere, we see Maggie, Emma and the baby posing for pictures at a mall. The baby girl, Charlotte, looks to be about four months old. St. Clair and Parham play up the photo shoot for very big laughs. After the photo shoot, they run into "Bird Bones"(Lindsay Sloane) and Mark(Keegan Michael Key), friends from the town that they can't see anymore because Emma is in love with Mark and "Bird Bones" isn't happy with that. "Bird Bones" and Mark are working out their relationship problems, so they are at the photographers to get family photos with their new dog Renee. It's supposed to be a bonding time for them, but it's just awkward after running into Maggie and Emma. We find out later that Maggie is secretly bringing Charlotte over to Mark's house so he can see her and they can continue their friendship. This encounter runs us into the big problem they run into in the premiere. Charlotte has a doll called Mr. Kooky and it's the only thing that can get her to sleep. Maggie and Emma go over to Mark's house, Maggie knows the code to get in, and look for the doll. We then see Renee chewing on Mr. Kooky. Maggie and Emma eventually get the doll back, but by that time, "Bird Bones" and Mark arrive home. It eventually gets found out that Maggie and Emma are in the house. The four of them have a big talk where they reveal all their problems and, having this out in the open, makes everyone more comfortable around each other. Maggie and Emma are told that they can have the toy back, but we then see Renee humping it, so they leave Mr. Kooky be. When Maggie and Emma go to Bruce's house to get Charlotte, Charlotte is sound asleep. When they ask him how he got her to sleep, Bruce replies, "I told her she's the love of my life, kissed her and put her to bed". Simple as that. The three of them are looking at their picture from the photo shoot and while Emma and Maggie are unhappy with how they look, Charlotte looks great and that's all that matters. A very sweet ending.

It was a very solid season two premiere. I don't want to spoil the next two episodes from anyone, but they're both very funny and very good. Jane Kaczmarek is back as Emma's mom and Zach Woods is back as Charlotte's uncle. They both have very good scenes in the next two episodes. The real standout to me, so far, is Keegan Michael Key. He is so funny and a very good actor. He plays Mark as a strong, but understandable husband and friend to the three ladies in his life. He's a top notch comedy actor. I'm so happy that "Playing House" is back on the air. It's a very solid show, and fans of comedy should be watching.

Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the co-host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He plays house with a living baby, a dog, and his hard working wife. Follow him on twitter @tykulik