The Best Show with Tom Scharpling
The Best Show with Tom Scharpling (formerly The Best Show on WFMU) is a combination music, call-in, and comedy Internet radio show/podcast hosted independently by Tom Scharpling since 2014, which previously aired on New Jersey-based radio station WFMU from 2000 to 2013. The show's slogan is "three hours of mirth, music, and mayhem."[1]
Genre
Talk, Comedy, Music
2 hours (2000–2001)
3 hours (2001–2013, 2014–)
Tom Scharpling
Jon Wurster
Mike Lisk (2005–)
Pat Byrne (2014-)
Jason Gore (2014-)
Forever Dog Productions
Los Angeles
On WFMU:
October 10, 2000 –
December 17, 2013
Independent revival:
December 16, 2014–present
"Best Show Theme" by Islands
"Best Show Theme" by Themeweavers "Best Show Theme" by Mr. and Mrs. Paycheck
thebestshow.libsyn.com/rss
The Best Show on WFMU first aired on October 10, 2000, occupying the 9pm–11pm time slot.
The current incarnation of The Best Show continues to air on Tuesday nights from 9pm to midnight Eastern live on Twitch from the studios of Forever Dog in Los Angeles.[2] On December 27, 2016, the show began accepting donations through Patreon, providing ancillary content and spin-off shows.[3]
The show has an international audience, with listeners and callers from the United States, Canada, the U.K., Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, and Tasmania.
Background[edit]
The Best Show on WFMU (2000-2013)[edit]
Scharpling hosted the first episode of The Best Show on WFMU on October 10, 2000.
Starting June 5, 2001, the show was expanded to three hours filling the 8pm–11pm slot, later moving to 9pm–midnight on June 15, 2010. A worldwide audience listened to the show live through WFMU's Internet stream with episodes also archived on the radio station's website. The Best Show began podcasting its shows, with the music removed due to licensing restrictions, on January 26, 2006.
The program featured a roster of genuine callers, as well as calls in-character from musician Jon Wurster, best known for his tenure as the drummer for Superchunk (with occasional in-character calls from H. Jon Benjamin, Jon Glaser, Peyton Reed and others).
Wurster adopted a variety of personae hailing from the fictional and surreal New Jersey suburb of "Newbridge." Frequent characters include "Philly Boy Roy" (an unflinching supporter of all things Philadelphia), "Timmy von Trimble" (a genetically modified, two-inch-tall racist), and "The Gorch" (a senior citizen who claims that the character of The Fonz on the TV show Happy Days was based on him, without permission).[4]
Some of these calls have been released on CD by Scharpling and Wurster's Stereolaffs label, as well as subsequent releases on Third Man Records and a retrospective box set released by Numero Group.
Regular callers and in-studio guests of note have included Todd Barry, Andy Kindler, Aimee Mann, Kurt Vile, Paul F. Tompkins, Ted Leo, John Hodgman, and Patton Oswalt.
In October 2013, Scharpling announced his intention to end The Best Show, with the program's finale airing on December 17.[5][6]
The Best Show with Tom Scharpling (2014-present)[edit]
On December 16, 2014, Scharpling revived the program independently at thebestshow.net, recording from a studio in Jersey City. The show featured a greater emphasis on lists and call-in segments, as well as featuring producers Mike Lisk, Jason Gore and Pat Byrne.
In 2014, Scharpling and Wurster created and produced a television special for Adult Swim (as part of their project Infomercials), based around their characters and the town of Newbridge entitled The Newbridge Tourism Board Presents: "We're Newbridge, We're Comin' to Get Ya!".[7] It aired on November 3, 2014,[8] and presents itself as a tourism video advertising Newbridge, NJ.
Released by The Numero Group on May 12, 2015, The Best of The Best Show is a retrospective box set of Scharpling and Wurster calls, culled primarily from the show's 13-year run on WFMU, on 16 discs and a USB stick with bonus material. It also includes a book featuring essays written by friends and associates of the show and notes on every included call by Scharpling and Wurster themselves.[9]
In 2015, Scharpling & Wurster made an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[10] The pair voiced characters on an episode of The Simpsons in 2016.[11] Scharpling detailed the genesis of the show in his best-selling book, It Never Ends.[12]
The show currently takes place in Los Angeles from the Forever Dog studios in North Hollywood. This new iteration of the show includes a live video stream on Twitch, a greater emphasis on musical performances and two 24-hour episodes, which have featured the likes of Bill Hader, Conan O'Brien, Jarvis Cocker, Nathan Fielder, Bob Odenkirk and Sarah Squirm.
Comedians
Actors
Musicians
Filmmakers
Animators
Authors
Wrestlers
Legacy[edit]
The Majority Report[edit]
On February 11, 2003, Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder appeared on The Best Show to discuss the political atmosphere of America. The chemistry between them as radio talents was evident, and their agreement on many liberal political views made them kindred spirits. In the summer of that same year, Garofalo was approached by representatives of Air America Radio to be a radio personality for their programming. She insisted that they hire Seder and that he share the hosting responsibilities. Less than one year later, The Majority Report was born.
Big Dipper reunion[edit]
On his January 20, 2004 radio program, Scharpling had been derisively talking about the VH1 show Bands Reunited. This discussion led to Scharpling facetiously declaring his goal of reuniting the beloved (though relatively unknown) 1980s Boston indie-rock band Big Dipper. In the following weeks, the concept of a "Big Dipper Reunion" had become a recurring in-joke on the program. Scharpling began calling the members at home to convince them to reunite. In 2008, the group reunited for a live concert. In advance of several reunion shows in April 2008, Merge Records released the 3-disc Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology on March 18, featuring liner notes by Scharpling.
Reception and fan base[edit]
Notable fans of The Best Show include Conan O'Brien,[15] David Cross,[16] and Aiden English.[17]