i love THE BEST SHOW more than almost anything there is! it is so riotously funny & inventive on such a consistent basis that it is no wonder tom wonders where the swarming millions are !! obviously, i want nothing but the best for tom & i hope he finds happiness however he can.
but speaking personally, this is my favourite ever era of the show. i've failed in ways that are harder & more debilitating than tom (uhh not that it's a contest ...) & it is so refreshing to hear somebody speaking openly about the fear that no matter how good their art is, no matter how loyal their fan base is, it may just not be enough. most of the podcasts i've become attached to go soft eventually. THE BEST SHOW never has, & the fact that a decade+ in & tom is only getting scrappier, hungrier, angrier (not to mention funnier), but also openly self-pitying & resentful ... i just can't express how cool & unique that is to me.
anyway, it is probably only my warped value system because i find life to be a waking nightmare ... but i like this dark era of THE BEST SHOW. of course it's completely rational to be concerned or bummed out by it, but people's responses made me wanna offer my perspective. I CAN PROMISE ALMOST NOTHING IN LIFE BUT I CAN PROMISE #BESTSHOW4LIFE. there was a time when i was committed at a mental facility & my girlfriend would sneak in an old 2000s era 8GB ipod with episodes of THE BEST SHOW on it for me ... the show has brought me laffs when i thought there were no laffs to be had. i love the emotional openness of recent episodes, but no matter how the show changes, i will always love it and always be there.