Farced Perspective

Sometimes repeating the same joke over and over makes you go from laughing at it to hating it to laughing at it again. Sometimes it makes you wonder why an episode was nominated for an Emmy. Join Pete and Ben as they lose their patience for short jokes, but stand tall for the performance chops and emotional depth of Paul Williams.

Ben and Pete experience continuity whiplash as they revisit an episode from earlier in production that doesn't quite mesh in tone or format with the other episodes reviewed so far.  So they break format as well, and plunge straight through the running order, with only a minor detour where Ryu, Ken, and Gonzo each try to destroy a car as quickly as possible.

Pete and Ben find some giant legs of mutton to chew on, as well as other topics of conversation: namely, whether Scooter's origin is too far from what his character evolves into, what is or isn't actually a joke, and just how good Ruth Buzzi's Twitter feed is.

Ben and Pete try to figure out what it means to enjoy an episode and yet still feel like the guest-star is a mismatch with the material. And how is that possible when the guest is clearly giving it her all? Come for the central question, stay for diversions into ALF, Love Never Dies, and Ben saying the words "episode" and "premise" far too often.

Pete takes control of the mic and the guest trivia as he and Ben discuss the second US broadcast of The Muppet Show and which segments worked, along with the vicissitudes of lip-syncing, the inherent comedy of an upright piano, and Disney's warning labels.

From the third leg of the unstable milking stool that is The Perspective umbrella of podcasts comes an analysis of the first season of The Muppet Show on this, the occasion of its 45th anniversary. (We were too impatient to wait another five years!) Join Ben and his new co-host Pete for an analysis of the first U.S. syndicated broadcast.

In this super-sized anniversary analysis, enjoy Anna and Ben's discussion about whether children's entertainment has a duty to be moral, whether Gene WIlder was scripted or unhinged, and whether this film holds up to either scrutiny or our childhood memories. And try not to count how many times Ben says something is "Fascinating..."

For the low, low cost of your entire savings, Ben and Nathan will remove this broadcast containing "sponsored" content by the University of Edinburgh Press, musings on the academic definition of satire, and pointed trivia about Royal societies, all of which could add up to divorce, premature retirement, and criminal proceedings for a company director in Bromsgrove...

Anna and Ben cough, gasp, and wheeze their way through the 1971 Norman Lear satire about a whole town that tries to quit smoking, Cold Turkey. Will they come to a consensus about whether the film unfairly judges the characters or successfully establishes stakes, or will Big Tobacco keep their findings from the light of day?

Anna and Ben venture into the heretofore unknown territory of 1971, and investigate Jules Feiffer's and Alan Arkin's Little Murders. They forensically dissect the romantic power dynamics between Elliot Gould's and Marcia Rodd's characters, but come to very different conclusions about the essence and impact of Donald Sutherland's satirical preacher. If they agree, fine; if they disagree, also fine!...

The BBC would like to apologize for the following summary: just for the halibut, Nathan and Ben fish through the episode's many inside references and call-backs, floundering to find a unifying theme. They cod have found something better than this one, but you know what they say: hake it 'til you make it! Reach for the stars and bream big!

Tonight, on "It's the Mind", we examine the phenomenon of déja vu, that strange sensation when it feels like Nathan and Ben have already talked about the possibility of last minute edits, Scottish "racism", the hilarity of explosions, and the world record for balancing eggs before.

Anna and Ben divert somewhat from the traditional format of the podcast and after comparing The Aristocats to its canine antecedents and pondering feline genetic— and financial! — inheritance, they get lost in the weeds of discussing Disney's influence on and responsibility to popular culture. So much so that after the quiz on "catnappings", there was no time left for their five favourite moments!

Anna and Ben convene in a fallout shelter under the Houston Astrodome to discuss the fiftieth anniversary of Robert Altman's dark fable. They discuss whether commercial art can be "High Art", whether fairy tales need to make sense, and the great Marshmallow Test of all our lives.

Anna and Ben receive a mysterious package that sends them on a journey of critical analysis regarding Chuck Jones' animated adaptation of The Phantom Tollbooth. They confer about educational theory, converse about mindless tasks, and chat about wordplay before being subjected to the demon that is the terrible Trivium, um, trivia contest.

Nathan and Ben discuss the increasing public ire the six Python Boys are willing to display about the BBC, whether the existing show was the result of last minute edits, and charm of expecting a running gag. But nobody expects a quiz about the 1963 film Charade and a digression about 1992's tech espionage film Sneakers!  Bwah-ha-ha-haaa!

Nathan and Ben return with a scheme called "The Other Podcast" where we threaten to analyse episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus if you don't listen.  The next podcast scheme might be the turning point. Until then, enjoy their musings on Graham Chapman's depictions of camp and a quiz on Cartesian Dualism.

Anna and Ben sit down to investigate the rebellious origins of BBS Productions' film Five Easy Pieces. While not actually a comedy, they examine it as a forerunner of Nicholson's manic performances and an extension of Rafelson's work with The Monkees, and then delve into trivia surrounding the classical music featured in the soundtrack.

Anna sits in with Ben to once again revisit anniversary cinema and discuss Billy Wilder's The Apartment on the event of its sixtieth anniversary. Does the romance hold up under contemporary power strictures, how has Mad Men influenced our opinions about office culture in the '60s, and who knows anything about that mishegas down at Cape Canaveral?

Diverting somewhat from the mainstream of their remit, Nathan and Ben celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original broadcast of Eric Idle's Rutland Weekend Television by watching the first episode, "Gibberish", and weighing it against half a century of Python comparisons.

A one-off episode in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the theatrical release of Robert Altman's M*A*S*H and inspired by avoiding the stress and pressure of social distancing.  Join Ben and special co-host Anna as they discuss the sexism, criticism, and other isms embedded in the trauma and drama of this wartime comedy.

Nathan and Ben come to the end of the first series of the Flying Circus, weigh the episode's anarchic nature, tally its in-jokes, and other phrases, man. Money isn't real, but their hiatus until the next episode will be. There will now be a whopping great intermission.

Nathan and Ben heed the legend of the Sloan Rangers and peer into the inherited tendencies of the landed gentry. As they weigh the tension of delaying the expectations of an obvious laugh, does that mean they're falling for stalling? Or mauling for trawling, or squalling while zalling? "Zalling"? Is that even a word?

Nathan and Ben offer context on celebrity boutiques and the internal lives of Python's characters, while speculating on editing and group dynamics. And a quiz on Gumbies is deadly enough to qualify for the Batley Townswomen's Guild historical re-enactments.

Nathan and Ben delve into the episode's running question: is this satire or "zany madcap humour", or does one change to the other as references fade from currency? Can they find an answer by looking at daredevil stunts, wooden hosts, and the censoring of lurid libraries?