The Best Show on WFMU: The End

[HeaveHo]

I haven't heard the podcast yet, and saw the news on my FB feed. I'm stunned.

Sure, it had to happen some day. All good things and all that.

I'm not crass enough to complain about no longer getting a freebie. I'm just glad that I had the chance to experience the delirium that was Newbridge for five great years. And besides, the Best Show was for me a gateway drug to other shows on WFMU. (Cherry Blossom Clinic, anyone?)

I would go so far as to put the Best Show's brand of radio comedy up there with the Goons. That, my friends, is the highest praise I can give.

Best of luck, Tom and Jon. Thanks, AP Mike. Thanks to all of you for your years of meritorious service.

And thanks to the callers who always brought something to the table (intentionally or otherwise): Jason from Huntsville, Dave from Knoxville, Fredericks from Newport Richey, Mr. Larry D. Perv, Auntie Christina, Omar the Scrivener, Paydirt from Tasmania, and.. yeah, okay, Spike.. to name a few.

And Tom? We're still your Friends. Keep in touch, 'kay?

-- HeaveHo

[Kormodd]

Mr. Larry D. Perv

No offense to the other great callers, but this man needs to be singled out for excellence.

[B_Buster]

Mr. Larry D. Perv

No offense to the other great callers, but this man needs to be singled out for excellence.

Hear, hear! Probably my favorite caller. I wish I had recorded all his follow-up apology calls after Tom had gomped him. A true gentleman (as in gentlemen's clubs).

[RemyLBO]

I would love to SPEND MONEY on a complete archive of the shows.  Also, the book idea of sketches and pictures would be great!

But, I think we should slow down when talking about passing around mp3 files.  I'm not sure who owns the intellectual property (I hope it's Tom), but we should let Tom or WFMU decide how to make this free show, which we've all enjoyed for years, easier for us to listen to. 

[CactusClothesline]

Have you tried downloading realplayer? It's actually not as bloated or terrible as I remember it being in the mid-2000s.

I too would make a payment or a donation to WFMU in exchange for a hard copy of the archives.

Realplayer has a nasty habit of freezing up on me on any number of computers I've tried the process on. It works, but can't beat having the entire archive of shows at your disposal without having to stream it.

Agree with what others have said, I would be more than happy to pony up any sort of donation/fee for the archives. Without knowing the logistics of ownership of the archives and Tom's plan for them, one idea may be for WFMU to create some sort of donation = login access for the archives to download on a per month/year basis. Could help bring some $$ back to the station that will likely be lost with the show leaving.

[not that clay]

Mr. Larry D. Perv

No offense to the other great callers, but this man needs to be singled out for excellence.

Hear, hear! Probably my favorite caller. I wish I had recorded all his follow-up apology calls after Tom had gomped him. A true gentleman (as in gentlemen's clubs).

I wish you had! Were they in character?

[B_Buster]

Larry D. Pervison has never broken character while he is on the phone.

[Andrew F]

For whatever it's worth, I'd also be more than happy to make a donation for the archived shows. Perhaps as a fundraising pledge premium? Obviously (as others have already pointed out), Tom or WFMU might not be cool with it. However, with the podcast files of shows going back to last November being readily available through iTunes, perhaps it wouldn't be as much of a problem if it were the files of the shows without the music. However, it would also be a massive time/energy consuming task.

[MarkS]

I’m really sad to hear the show is ending, but I am pretty excited to see what Tom does next. I’m also really excited to see what’s in store for these final Best Shows. It’s the one thing that hasn’t happened on the show yet, an end date, and I can’t wait to see what Tom, Jon and Mike have in store for us. Also, I want to say just one little way the show has changed me. I now laugh way more than I should whenever I listen to talk radio or someone talking on a phone and they accidentally press the number buttons as they are talking. It brings me back to every one of Jon’s calls and I can’t help but laugh out loud. Thanks guys!

[icepants]

Yes for free but he has created a life long fan of WFMU.  I now pledge every year usually as much as I can, and I have found a bigger music nerd then myself in the form of a radio station/website/podcasts.  Of course I'm sure I'm not the only one and I will be following Tom's comedic and creative ventures into their next stage.

[Flood]

Wouldn't it be great if all of the FOTs, for next year's WFMU marathon and for however many more to come, would sprinkle all of WFMU's shows with pledges, all saying "in memory of The Best Show"? 

[MiddleBro]

The silver lining I'm trying to wring for myself is that now I get to be a cosmonaut in the archives and try to write some insane comprehensive history of the show without worrying about keeping up on the new episodes

Yeah, I've thought about trying to get a truly comprehensive Wiki of the show going, for a while, now.  More than some of the attempts I've come across.  Like DEEP, with all sorts of cross-references to specific dates and times in shows, but with all of the hours, it's tough to relisten to all I have heard, let alone everything that came before, take notes, AND know 3 more hours are going to be added to the pile, each week.  If I (or anyone gets around to it), that can be the only plus to be taken from this, aside, of course, for Tom getting a chance to spread his wings and take the chump-steamrolling to the next level (with income attached, as well).


   -Zach

[csgersbeck]

I'd be into the complete set compilation as well.

I still think a book of Tom and Jon's notes, scripts, doodles etc. along with the existing art and some newly commissioned art would be a great thing to behold.

THIS

A map of Newbridge and profiles of every character wouldl be great too.

[fatwad666]

Have been a lurker on this board for too long but felt compelled to sign up finally to voice my +1 for any sort of archival package of the show's run. The RM files are a nightmare and I have never been savvy enough to be able to convert them to MP3. This would be such a great positive on what has been sad announcement (can't spin it any other way, I've been gutted since Tuesday night).

Having said that, I want to echo the thoughts of everyone else and thank Tom, Jon, Mike and everyone else associated with the show for creating something that means so much to so many and I anxiously await to see what is next. 

I have the entire show run converted to MP3 files (including the "lost" shows and de-archived shows), with all the music edited out of them. This was actually the initial impetus for starting the Best Show podcast to begin with, back in 2006 (I would use those old archive files to put a "classic" rerun show on the podcast feed on those weeks when Tom didn't do a live show).

I'm not sure if it would be cool with Tom and/or Station Manager Ken for me to set these MP3 files free, but if I get the OK, I'll be glad to make them available in some form or another.

This is great to hear. Please keep us updated on this. How can we help you in the process?

[Omar]

I'd be into the complete set compilation as well.

I still think a book of Tom and Jon's notes, scripts, doodles etc. along with the existing art and some newly commissioned art would be a great thing to behold.

THIS

A map of Newbridge and profiles of every character wouldl be great too.

An extremely thorough Oral History of The Best Show book (on par with the SNL/ESPN/MTV/etc. books) is what needs to be done.  I would estimate that it would take a minimum of 5 years to properly complete.