The Ringer

onthereg527

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Nov 16, 2021
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The Ringer likes to underrate Cartman. I remember in the Greatest TV Characters bracket they had years ago like had Cartman as like, a 13 seed and PWB's character from Fleabag as a 4 seed, and when Cartman smoked Fleabag in the poll the person who writes the recaps was like "How could Cartman have beaten Fleabag?"
Fleabag was a fine show, I enjoyed it. But holy shit critics fawn over themselves to praise it, truly wild to me. Last September, Rolling Stone had a list of the greatest shows of all time and it literally had Fleabag as the 5th greatest television show OF ALL TIME. Directly ahead of Seinfeld and Cheers. Think about that.
 

johnmd20

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Fleabag was a fine show, I enjoyed it. But holy shit critics fawn over themselves to praise it, truly wild to me. Last September, Rolling Stone had a list of the greatest shows of all time and it literally had Fleabag as the 5th greatest television show OF ALL TIME. Directly ahead of Seinfeld and Cheers. Think about that.
A whole 12 episodes, too. Cheers had 271 episodes. Seinfeld had 172. You cannot compare a TV show that did 6 hours versus something that did 100 hours.

Fleabag was great but you are right. It is spoken about in tones of glee that are not commensurate with reality. It's nowhere near an all time great show because it is a long movie, (with a sequel) not a TV show.
 

onthereg527

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A whole 12 episodes, too. Cheers had 271 episodes. Seinfeld had 172. You cannot compare a TV show that did 6 hours versus something that did 100 hours.

Fleabag was great but you are right. It is spoken about in tones of glee that are not commensurate with reality. It's nowhere near an all time great show because it is a long movie, (with a sequel) not a TV show.
Exactly! What do you make of it? It’s very well written. But it isn’t like they broke the mold with it, either.
 

Remagellan

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Exactly! What do you make of it? It’s very well written. But it isn’t like they broke the mold with it, either.
Wait, are you saying that PWB didn't create breaking the fourth wall by having a character talk directly to the camera?

(I liked Fleabag, but I agree with you both that it's more than a tad overpraised.)
 

luckiestman

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I always have two thoughts when I read this type of commentary.

1. Ranking art to me is very strange. All popularity contests to determine how good something is don’t make that much sense. I’m not saying discussing if a show is good or not is strange just that rank ordering is weird. Like how the hell am I supposed to compare True Detective Season 1 to Curb Your Enthusiasm (2 shows I love). When I see these brackets like Cartman vs X I just wonder if boredom in our society is a bigger problem than opiates (see, now I’m trying to rank order societal maladies, Jesus, how far does this ranking madness go…)

2. People seem to love ranking art, so even given my opinion about it, I think the Olympics should bring back arts competition. It existed for sure prior to WW1. I don’t know when they phased it out. I looked up some of the art pieces that won. They’re extraordinary. Who should I contact about this?
 

Kliq

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The "Biggest Jerk" tournament is a funny idea, if only just to look at the bracket and remember some notable jerks from TV and movie history. Agree with your broader point that ranking things is easy clickbait and that is why it's done.
 

Shelterdog

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Wait, are you saying that PWB didn't create breaking the fourth wall by having a character talk directly to the camera?

(I liked Fleabag, but I agree with you both that it's more than a tad overpraised.)
I'll be that guy and say that fourth all breaking I Claudius should be on that there top list. The Alec Guinness George Smiley mini-series as well.
 

Mystic Merlin

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I have no idea how this will unfold, but there is a high shitshow risk with this podcast:

https://twitter.com/billsimmons/status/1691484515456167937?s=46&t=1S4eWjX_rzBBrpPNddRPAg

Bill noted in a subtweet that the first Ringer collaboration with Puck, ‘The Town’ with Matthew Belloni, is successful, but, almost needless to say, a podcast chronicling the economic side of the TV/movie business is roughly 8943467888 times less controversial/sensitive than a presidential election in the current political hellscape and this isn’t really The Ringer’s lane.

Can’t wait!
 

Kliq

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It seems to be run by a veteran political reporter that already has several political podcasts under her belt. I don't think it's going to be Bill and Rusillo weighing in on the election. The Ringer originally launched Keepin' It 1600 in the build up to the 2016 election, so this isn't really breaking new ground.
 

nattysez

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It seems to be run by a veteran political reporter that already has several political podcasts under her belt. I don't think it's going to be Bill and Rusillo weighing in on the election. The Ringer originally launched Keepin' It 1600 in the build up to the 2016 election, so this isn't really breaking new ground.
To take it a step further, I believe the guys from Keepin' It 1600 built an entire media company out of the popularity of that Ringer podcast, so Bill's instincts in terms of hiring people in this realm and staying out of their way seems pretty good.
 

luckiestman

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Pablo's TB Lover

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To take it a step further, I believe the guys from Keepin' It 1600 built an entire media company out of the popularity of that Ringer podcast, so Bill's instincts in terms of hiring people in this realm and staying out of their way seems pretty good.
Yup, Crooked Media: https://crooked.com/

I actually listened to them soon after their departure from the Ringer but haven't been in the habit of regularly pursuing their podcasts. I may try them out again going forward, as besides following the upcoming election races there were a few good narrative pods they produced years back.
 

shlincoln

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The 60 Songs episode on 'One' was predictable excellent. harvilla's mom is savage.

they're also breaking House of R out from the Ringerverse as it's own feed so I guess it isn't a working title anymore.
 

johnmd20

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The 60 Songs episode on 'One' was predictable excellent. harvilla's mom is savage.

they're also breaking House of R out from the Ringerverse as it's own feed so I guess it isn't a working title anymore.
Breaking out House of R seems like a really stupid move.
 

shlincoln

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there were five different podcasts operating under the Ringerverse banner. I can see wanting to split them up to give everyone a bit more room to breathe.
 

8slim

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The Big Picture has a multi-episode series about the history of movies about the Vietnam War. It's very, very good. Motivated me to re-watch Apocalypse Now for the first time in ages. Highly recommend.
 

Kliq

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Wow, that's pretty big news. Clark was a great signing, a perfect personality and talent for what The Ringer was going for when it first launched. They've hired some young football people recently, most notably Ben Solak, so they are prepared to lose Clark, but SND was a big hit.
 

allstonite

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The 2006 Movie Draft on Big Picture is completely deranged and just phenomenal. It starts with discussion of the Wagner guy plane crash and a Tik Tok about a porn addict discussing the nude scenes in Oppenheimer. These 3 have so much chemistry together it’s always a blast to listen to
 

JCizzle

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Wow, that's pretty big news. Clark was a great signing, a perfect personality and talent for what The Ringer was going for when it first launched. They've hired some young football people recently, most notably Ben Solak, so they are prepared to lose Clark, but SND was a big hit.
Clark was always a weird personality for me. I liked him as a guest on Russillo's show, but tended to not like his Ringer NFL stuff. Too much cynicism maybe? I can't really put a finger on why I didn't like him and Nora. The only Ringer NFL guys that are a must-listen for me are the Fantasy guys, who do a good job making it a fun listen.
 

thebtskink

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I really don't have much of a reason to listen to Ringer NFL's feed with Kevin gone now.

I really like Nora and Lindsey Jones, but Sheil and Solak aren't fun to listen to no matter how intelligent they are. And Ruiz has never been my cup of tea.

I'll absolutely agree that the Fantasy show is a great listen. Fantastic rapport and real knowledgeable stuff
 

luckiestman

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I really don't have much of a reason to listen to Ringer NFL's feed with Kevin gone now.

I really like Nora and Lindsey Jones, but Sheil and Solak aren't fun to listen to no matter how intelligent they are. And Ruiz has never been my cup of tea.

I'll absolutely agree that the Fantasy show is a great listen. Fantastic rapport and real knowledgeable stuff
I dont like their non Simmons?Ryen NFL coverage. I prefer ATN (around the NFL) and Lombardi. For film stuff I watch youtube guys.
 

nattysez

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Hiring Kevin and re-upping Mina increases my level of interest in ESPN's football coverage.

I thought the Ringer Wise Guys show on FanDuelTV was fine - I watched about 15 minutes of it. It was essentially the same as watching a Ringer podcast, for better or worse. Not appointment viewing for me, but if I was trying to kill time before the games started, it's a better watch than any of the other pregame shows IMO.
 

JCizzle

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Hiring Kevin and re-upping Mina increases my level of interest in ESPN's football coverage.

I thought the Ringer Wise Guys show on FanDuelTV was fine - I watched about 15 minutes of it. It was essentially the same as watching a Ringer podcast, for better or worse. Not appointment viewing for me, but if I was trying to kill time before the games started, it's a better watch than any of the other pregame shows IMO.
That's good to know, I meant to check it out. Did you find it through YouTube?
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I’m really enjoying Russillo’s travel podcast detailing his trip through Spain.

I don’t imagine Russillo and I would be very good friends… he’s some real sexist bro asshole takes. But he’s funny, smart, interesting and above all, authentic. great podcaster.
 

johnmd20

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I’m really enjoying Russillo’s travel podcast detailing his trip through Spain.

I don’t imagine Russillo and I would be very good friends… he’s some real sexist bro asshole takes. But he’s funny, smart, interesting and above all, authentic. great podcaster.
He does not come off as sexist at all. Definitely a bro, though.
 

nattysez

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That's good to know, I meant to check it out. Did you find it through YouTube?
I have YouTubeTV and FanDuelTV is a channel in the sports tier (which I had to buy to get RedZone), so I watched it there. That show goes from 11-12 Eastern, and then the show continues (apparently doe 20 minutes) on YouTube after that.

I think this might be a recording of the whole show, which is 1:20 long. https://www.youtube.com/live/fzmI0gytt-o?si=I0arKNhJkpBNs7Xt
 

Kliq

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It has come to my attention Rodger Sherman has left The Ringer. I realized this when I was looking for his regular NFL "Winners and Losers" recap column and didn't see it yesterday. Turns out he left last month and is going to be making his own content touring college football venues.
 

Joe D Reid

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I think they’ve pulled their football podcasters too thin. I’ve been in the habit of listening to the Sunday recap pod since back when Mays was still involved, but Nora and Ruiz don’t work. It was better when Ben was there, but now they’ve got him on a shout-fest with Kapadia full-time. Instead of two bad pods twice a week each, they should be doing one good pod twice a week.
 

rodderick

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I think they’ve pulled their football podcasters too thin. I’ve been in the habit of listening to the Sunday recap pod since back when Mays was still involved, but Nora and Ruiz don’t work. It was better when Ben was there, but now they’ve got him on a shout-fest with Kapadia full-time. Instead of two bad pods twice a week each, they should be doing one good pod twice a week.
Agreed. Love Nora, absolutely can't stand Ruiz, and without a buffer for his schtick that pod is unlistenable.
 

JCizzle

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Agreed. Love Nora, absolutely can't stand Ruiz, and without a buffer for his schtick that pod is unlistenable.
Yep. A lot of their football personalities have "smarter than everyone" energy from my perspective, but Ruiz takes it to insufferable levels.
 

johnmd20

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Agreed. Love Nora, absolutely can't stand Ruiz, and without a buffer for his schtick that pod is unlistenable.
It's a crime Nora is stuck with Ruiz. I like Nora a lot, she's a pleasure to listen to. Ruiz is bad and he's been bad the whole way. Solak, to his credit, was bad last year and he's gotten much better as a podcaster. My only complaint about Solak is that he gets off on listing the guys on every team nobody knows, to prove how much he knows. It's an odd quirk, anyone can look up the depth charts. And it doesn't add anything to any conversation just to name 8 guys on the SF defense.

And Rusillo's travel pods are the Apex Mountain of content. There is nothing better. He should be the next Anthony Bourdain. And I am not joking. He's self aware enough to be funny and entertaining but quirky and odd enough to make the most random things sound hilarious.

He compared Hannibal to Don Sutton. Not just a stat compiler. Or his Harden talk when speaking about the night clubs. Just perfection.
 

nattysez

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I still think Ringer Wise Guys has potential.

However, if you're going to do a season's worth of live TV shows, shouldn't you spring for a fiber line for House? His internet connectivity was shaky all morning.

It's funny - Sal and JJ have professional setups and House and Raheem look like they are on Zoom calls.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Looks like the screwed up posting the Bill/Sal Monday morning podcast... only the 4-minute chunk of opening commercials arrived via Apple this morning. Anyone else get the full pod?

And am half-hoping it's a "someone forgot to push record" situation.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Looks like the screwed up posting the Bill/Sal Monday morning podcast... only the 4-minute chunk of opening commercials arrived via Apple this morning. Anyone else get the full pod?

And am half-hoping it's a "someone forgot to push record" situation.
EDIT:It's up on Spotify. And yes, seems like Bill messed up the recording.
 

JCizzle

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Looks like the screwed up posting the Bill/Sal Monday morning podcast... only the 4-minute chunk of opening commercials arrived via Apple this morning. Anyone else get the full pod?

And am half-hoping it's a "someone forgot to push record" situation.
I've been listening to it on and off this morning via Apple and it's all good for me. Bill is using Zoom audio so he sounds shitty, but all the content is there.
 

Swedgin

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Apologies if this was posted elsewhere, but Zach Lowe had Howard Beck on his pod discussing the Jrue trade and mentioned that Beck had joined the Ringer. Great get for basketball coverage.