Lee's "Sunday Night Show" is a phone-in format, which immediately sets it apart from other radio podcasts I download. Now, the thing to make clear is how this podcast will make NO sense for the first few episodes. It's a show built around a niche listenership, populated by people who are awake and tuning into late-night radio on a Sunday before work. Simply put: the callers seem to be unemployed nutters.
It's full of in-jokes ("Ry-an Reynolds!"), catchphrases ("I've got a dirty..."), recurring feuds, and references to past events. It took me around 4 episodes (that's 8 hours of listening) to grasp all the callers' personalities and get a handle on the ramshackle format. Iain Lee's crafted something rather unique here -- genuine "so bad it's good" stuff. You know the answer-phone segment of Big Brother's Big Mouth, featuring dim and deluded fans? It's basically that, but with a live radio host.
As suspected, it does become tiresome and repetitive, while the lack of direction and reliance on callers to "create" the show means quality is erratic minute to minute, let alone episode to episode. But still, some of the callers are quite funny (intentionally or otherwise) and it definitely rewards a bit of perseverance. There's also a website, caller chat-room and Iain Lee's "spin-off" podcasts dotted around dark corners of the web, so it's like discovering a secret club. Love it or hate it, The Sunday Show's worth a trial run to see if any of it clicks with you. The comic value of elderly "Barry From Watford" is reason enough for ONE download, trust me...
This podcast was recommended to me in the comments section of a previous article about podcasts. See, I do listen! Movies You Should See (MYSS) is a collection of film reviews by Richard Smith, Allison Downing, Craig Bevan, Will Tristram and Tristan Ofield, who discuss classics like Superman, guilty pleasures like The 'Burbs, and fairly recent hits like Gladiator.
With most film-based podcasts focusing on things opening that weekend, there's an element of nostalgia with MYSS that's good fun -- because most people will have an opinion on the chosen films.
However, I was confused about who MYSS is aimed at. If you haven't seen the film under discussion, chances are you'll be very confused and have the film's plot and any twists spoiled! Therefore, it's safer to listen to reviews of films you've seen -- but doesn't that defeat the purpose of this podcast to recommend and champion films you must watch? I spy a Catch 22, don't you?
If you're savvy enough to be downloading this podcast, I doubt you're unfamiliar with Galaxy Quest or The Matrix, anyway. So where are the overlooked movie gems that would justify a bit of internet championing?
Episodes are obviously one-sided group banter, but the host website (Simply Syndicated) contains a forum where listeners can type their own thoughts. It might help if future episodes reflected on listener response to the previous podcast, though. Make it more "interactive" for podcast-only fans.
The gang have a rapport, friendship and love of film, but don't expect much insight or clever perspectives. Anything of interest is usually cribbed from IMDb, begging the question: why not just chat about your favourite films with your own friends, instead of by podcast proxy? The MYSS team lack the depth of knowledge to make you want to hear their opinions. Indeed, I'm often rolling my eyes at the gaps in their movie knowledge and viewing habits (someone had never seen Monty Python & The Holy Grail). There's also a worrying dislike of films widely accepted as good, usually with no persuasive/intriguing reason for their opinion.
Each review lasts about 60-minutes, but usually struggles to justify that length -- so the chat goes off-topic a lot, for long periods, which can become irritating. I think a focused 30-minute of discussion would be a worthwhile change, as many episodes just start recapping the plot after awhile. Superficially, the opening/closing theme tune drags on for an eternity, too.
I know, I know; it's another Iain Lee hosted podcast. If you were ever wondering what happened to him, it's now abundantly clear! He's the John Barrowman of podcasting! Channel 4 likely heard Lee elsewhere and tapped him for their twice-weekly Big Brother internet-radio show, with newcomer Gemma Cairney.
It's basically an audio-version of Big Brother's Big Mouth, but better because BBBM only works with Russell Brand. Oddly, Iain Lee's not particularly interested in BB (he admits as much on his other shows), but he's still able to wrangle the callers to good effect and watches enough to have an opinion.
Surprisingly, BBBE also made me reconsider BB8 winner Brian Belo, who sometimes guests and comes across very well. It helps that he's a die-hard BB obsessive, with the kind of knowledge and first-hand experience a BB podcast needs. I mean, this guy downloads Aussie Big Brother, and his initials are BB! It's actually a shame Brian's not a permanent co-host, as he's the kind of oddball Iain's used to dealing with on his radio show, and has the knowledge and enthusiasm Lee admittedly lacks.
