FALL TV EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

 

THE NERDIST

** (out of ****)

The Nerdist makes the leap from podcast to actual television show this season, and fans of the podcast shouldn’t be disappointed, as long as you’re also a fan of not having a good reason to update a podcast into a television show. For the uninitiated, the podcast is created and hosted by Chris Hardwick, who children of the nineties may remember as Mr. Jenny McCarthy on MTV’s Singled Out. Every week, Chris will invite one nerd-friendly guest to interview/hang out and talk. Hardwick doesn’t pound the interview out of his guests like Marc Maron does on his podcast WTF, but it’s not always as surface level as you might expect. The biggest difference between their interview styles is Hardwick is always a HUGE fan of who he is interviewing, leading to slightly sycophantic, fanboy frothing, but also leaves him with an excitement that is contagious, even if you’ve never heard of the guest. The Nerdist TV show has a very similar format: Hardwick jokes around with his full time sidekicks, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira, and then brings out his guest. But we also get, on the TV show, a remote shot at a Dr. Who exhibit, a surprise appearance by the current Dr. Who, and Hardwick and his Hard and Phirm bandmate, Mike Phirman, sing a closing number. The show has a general awkwardness, like it’s the first time any of them have been on TV, especially in comparison to the guest, Craig Ferguson, who couldn’t be uncomfortable in front of a camera if the camera had molested his sister. Hardwick also isn’t helped by his sidekicks, who were able to transition all of the unfunny they bring to the podcast directly into the show. Maybe the two of them are funny on their own, but on both incarnations of the show, they don’t really understand the role of sidekick. The three come off as three friends loitering in front of a 7-11, each competing for the funniest line, and sometimes awarding the trophy to not the most clever, but the loudest. Luckily, the one who is funniest and most clever, Hardwick, is also in charge and has the capability to shut them done and actually say funny things. Both sidekicks need to study Andy Richter, and see what it’s like to be a professional. Hardwick is endlessly likeable, and he is both fun to watch and easy to root for. But there is too much going against the show to think that the crew as a whole is ready for TV Land.

 

COMING SOON: HOMELAND!!!

-Ryan Haley