Welcome to Podcast Portal: a spontaneous column that will highlight podcasts of all genres that are lesser known or new shows that are worth giving a listen. With the medium continuing to grow, it is hard to acknowledge all of them. However, I am going to try and find as many noteworthy titles as possible to share and hopefully expand your mind to the greatest growing medium out there. If you have any podcast that you feel is worth adding to the Podcast Portal, please make sure to inform me whether through the comments or through an e-mail (information in sidebar).
SHOW: The Carson Podcast
HOST: Mark Malkoff
NETWORK: None
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: Martin Mull
As a fan of comedy, there is a certain reverence that I have for its history, including the juggernaut that was The Tonight Show under the power of Johnny Carson. While I grew up in a post-Jay Leno world, reruns and clips on Youtube have sufficed my pleasure of understanding his brilliance to making the late night talk show format work. He is a charismatic performer who could start anyone's career if given the opportunity. In a sense, this makes The Carson Podcast one of the most intriguing and fruitful homages to a legend of 30+ years with guests talking about their experiences on the show as well as their origins in comedy.
It may be strange to start with the episode in which host Mark Malkoff interviews Martin Mull. It isn't that it is a bad interview, but clocking in at 17 minutes, it is significantly shorter than every other interview. This is notably because of the discussion being held in the studio where Dads is being filmed during Mull's down time. As noted towards the end, Mull gives a "Hello" to an unnamed source, suggesting that he is about to be whisked away. There's only a wish that he wasn't taken away so soon.
The actual discussion isn't specifically about The Tonight Show, but also about Mull's origins and why he is a bad singer. There is also discussion of his classic album "Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture in Your Living Room" as well as the origin to its name. It is all fantastic, and with this being only Mull's second podcast taping, it allows for multiple factoids to come out. For fans of the comedian, this is likely to suffice and have some desire for more. However, as a podcast with a mission statement, it may be lacking a little in the ways of fun tidbits. Besides the roundabout way, thanks to George Carlin, that he got on, there isn't much in the way of impressive stories.
Again, I blame that mostly to the feeling like the interview was just getting going when he was whisked away. It covered a broad scope in a short time. As a whole, it leaves me with the sense that this show has overall potential to be a rather impressive anthology of people praising Carson whether through personal interaction or influence. As it stands, there are an additional five interviews currently archived with many more expected to be released every Wednesday. With each episode averaging around 40 minutes, it may end up being a worthwhile tribute, as there are endless amounts of people who can turn in a testament to Carson.
RATING: 3 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: If you are a fan of comedy and Johnny Carson (or just the interviewed guest), this is likely to be an informative and fun show to check out.
Comments
Post a Comment