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: Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast!
HOST: Gilbert Gottfried
NETWORK: Sideshow Network
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: Dick Cavett
It seems like the best way to launch a show nowadays is to have Dick Cavett on. As followers of this column will likely remember, the famed talk show host also appeared on The Goddamn Dave Hill Show as well. He isn't a bad guy to have on in fact. He really is a charismatic talker whose calm demeanor is likely to make even the worst news go down smooth. He engages and is surprisingly game for whatever you want to talk about. He is the ideal guest that unfortunately more people need to know about.
Also coming to the podcast community for the first time this week is Gilbert Gottfried. He is a man of many hats, including the voice of Iago in Aladdin, the former Aflack duck, and an album that sums up his career: "Dirty Jokes." With names like Norm MacDonald and Alec Baldwin taking to the growing medium, it is strange to see the veteran comics just now embracing its potential. Gottfried is a controversial performer and one that likely makes the first episode worth checking out solely for what he would do. Will he say something really offensive? Will it become a political soapbox?
While Gottfried is an acquired taste in all facets of life, the first episode is rather tame. In fact, it does does seem like Cavett is the real star of the episode. Despite Gottfried's outspoken nature, he sits back and lets his guest tell fascinating stories about Groucho Marx and a health guru dying on his show. There's plenty of playful banter, but Cavett cannot help but control the conversation by reminding us why he is an invaluable speaker. In fact, we don't really get a sense of who Gottfried wants to be with the show other than someone fascinated with his guest's exploits.
This isn't a bad thing. The first episode is rather good at hitting all the atypical marks. We get to know the guest, hear some authentic stories, and the host laughs along. It does get risque, but not to the level of "Dirty Jokes." By the end of the hour, it isn't entirely clear what to expect from the host on a weekly basis. This isn't a bad thing, though it does raise the question on why Gottfried wanted to make a podcast to begin with. Much like the great By the Way podcast by Jeff Garlin, this could just be a way to hear some great stories. However, the episode is too low key to really strike an impression other than that Dick Cavett needs his own podcast.
Rating: 4 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: With a voice as defined as Gilbert Gottfried, it is up to the listener to decide what is a tolerable dose. However, I don't feel like he is overbearing here and may just be the type of host who poses questions. Provided that he gets good guests down the line, I will be giving it another shot just to see if his presence dominates, or if he is more rooted in occasional dirty jokes and nostalgic stories.
Comments
Post a Comment