After listening to you for many years, I was excited to hear that you would be on TV… sorry guys, the show is a bomb. I truly wanted to like it… If the show was on network TV, I would have said you “sold-out” but, since it appeared on Public TV, I guess it was just an experiment to see the reaction your fans would give the show. This humble fan gives the show two thumbs down. Please stick with the radio show… it’s a winner!
To make it truly a personal attack, I think I would have to be attacking a particular person, the way that several people already posting have been doing when they say that Doug and Douggie:
– have no talent as writers,
– are just trying to cash in, and
– are pushing the cartoon just because they are on a big ego trip.
Those are personal attacks. I, in the post you refer to, was only making the most general of observations about what appears to me to be a personality characteristic implied by several such comments, like the personal attacks on the show’s specific, named writers and producers.
I don’t see attacking the show’s creator’s intentions, based on no actual evidence, indicates a highly intellectual conversation going on here. Perhaps you haven’t read all of the commentary. Please let me refer you to elevated language of those posts which rose to such expressions as: “Pee-UUU!,” “Stinko!,” and “Kill it before it spreads!” When my parents were alive, they discouraged such language.
If the show’s creators’ intentions consist of not much more that providing another broadcast venue where we can here Tommy laugh, that is probably enough for me.
Plymouthsavoy
As I said before you are entitled to voice your views, but that voicing in no ways makes them valid or true.
Perhaps rather than just laughing off facts that you don’t like you shouild try offering facts that support your point of view, rather than just saying ‘I feel’.
BTW. I didn’t realize that PBS didn’t pay for programming, wonder where all that fund drive money goes ???
Wonder why PBS stations run ‘Thank Yous’ for the groups/companies that ‘provide funding’ for shows and open most shows with ‘funding for this program provided by…’.
And, yes the number of ‘good job posts’ is increasing, not as fast as the ‘it stinks’ ones and in a week, or two, the number of ‘good job’ posts should crack the double digit glass ceiling !!!
AND And since this a forum about a NPR radio show, your comment that the majority of USAians might not have ever heard of ‘Car Talk’ is a bit puzzling especially since Tom and Ray also have a syndicated newspaper column.
AND AND And I seem to remember a well respected Hollywood Director making a well received little movie [generally has three stars out of four in most listings], using A List stars, called ‘A Prairie Home Companion’. That movie mixed very realistic on air scenes with tongue in cheek but still plausible backstage goings on. Surprisingly that movie is still in rotation on the premium cable movie channels.
From the tone of your posts it is starting to appear that you live under a bridge and demand goats for peolpe to cross.
Sorry Guys…Been listening to you for half my life and want to keep listening not watching the Toons. I stopped watching after 10 minutes and went back to CSPAN.
If you really listened to Tom and Ray’s show, you would realize they seem to enjoy self-deprecating humor. They read criticism like that on the air and laugh at it. I don?t find your manufactured umbrage convincing. Nice try.
There’s a difference. We take them to task for making a bad show. You take us to task simply for disagreeing with you.
Chuck Vest just upchucked. Our new Pres Hockfield had the Alumni Association check the rules to determine if she could eradicate you two from the rolls. Oy vey, and I used to be proud to say that one of my classmates was on radio - he was my hero - a real celebrity from the good old days - but this thing on PBS last week - aren’t you guys ashamed cartoons yet - for all of us who didn’t know you back then? Shameless commerce - and I shall probably waste another perfectly good hour watching and trying to listen to your inanity again this evening - and then e-mail the glorious Institute to take away your commencement credentials.
Back in the day, MIT was always studio-supplied with Roadrunner cartoons; something about Chuck Jones (yet another chuck) inspiring us with ACME Corp inventions. So I’m absolutely certain that the boys were exposed to superb examples of the genre on Saturday nights. Therefore, no excuses. Will we watch again tonight? Will there be a miraculous redemption? Will the same place that bought a weird-ass and leaky Gehry cartoon of a building revoke those degrees? How come only four score of the four million listeners cared to comment? There will be answers, only I’ll be too depressed to care.
I tried last week and couldn’t stand it. Tried again tonight and it’s just as bad. It only takes a minute to be overcome by the mediocrity. It’s lame and embarrassing. You guys have “jumped the shark”. Please stick to radio.
Guys…What are you thinking? I’ve been a loyal fan for 15 years. I listened to your show on American Forces Network in Germany in the 80’s, 90’s and into the 00’s. I listened (and still listen) to your show on NPR. I was stoked when I found out you were doing a show on PBS and set my DVR to record every new show. OH MY GOD!!! I’m watching the 16 July episode as we speak and my one regret is that I didn’t sanitize the icepick before I stuck it in my eye!!! I may have an infection in the morning. Guys, this format sucks beyond belief. How did you get sucked into this?
Here’s what your fan’s want to see on PBS…We want to see you guys at the console during your show answering questions from your audience. This animated stuff sucks. The beauty of your show is that it’s not scripted and you guys excel at that and it’s what you should do.
Bob
As the Wrench Turns is awful and you guys should burn the masters of any and all of the episodes. Really, you are sso great on your radio show with your freewheeling banter and unstructured conversation and responses to the callers, the format of this turkey does not fit your style at all … not even close.
The graphics also look like they were done by the lowest bidder in South Korea or India. Extricate yourselves from this horse puckey project and stick with what you do so very well.
Tom and Ray–
Congratulations on two more great episodes! The music at the close of the Boston blackout one was especially great; there’s nothing like hot jazz with accordion.
When do you start developing the feature-length animated film?
Actually, this show only needs five things to succeed: better scripts, better characters, better scripts, better animation, and better scripts.
Oy vey! What the name of Sylvia Poggioli where you guys thinking!? You guys light up the radio waves, we absolutely love you. But um. The TV show gig isn’t working. Double the length of your radio show and we’ll forget all about this mess ok?
Hey, youse guys are my heroes. As the Wrench Turns is OK. Last week’s episodes were a little weak, but this week’s were better.
However, as an independent auto repair shop owner, I don’t think the “wallet vac” shows us guys (which includes youse guys) in the best light. Maybe that was the underlying reason for the blackout?
Keep up the good work.
Oh, come on people…what are you Pasta-pated. We were ROFLMAO. The show’s about the message and extremely well done. The animation was great and fit with the show; simple and direct. The characters are really well thought out and the lines are just funny ( OPEC ). We thought the Boston Blackout and Pasta Fueled shows were really the best so far. They really packed a lot in for a half hour show. Keep them coming. From a New Yorker and a Bostonian.
I thought that “Pasta Wars” was actually pretty good. I enjoyed it!
Sorry Guys! Long time listener, but couldn’t get through either episode of this…
Beyond the complaints of bad timing and bad animation, please, what’s with the goofy sound effects closing many scenes? BOOOOOING???
The blame for this turkey (IMHO) must rest on Executive Producer of Animation Bill Kroyer and Director
Tom Sito; unless they provided financial backing, junk them. As others have pointed out, watch 10 minutes of Adult Swim on the cartoon network for an idea of what pacing should be, and how to animate cheaply but well. Really no excuse for what has been delivered to PBS - truly a YUGO (spoken by a former owner of a Dodge Aspen).
As to dialogue writing, Doug Berman and Doug Mayer were over their heads and should stick to producing.
It was a great idea (promotion of road safety/ polite driving etc.) and I hope it can be saved… you guys are a truly original (and needed) voice here in the USA … but I fear that the project execution is so deeply flawed that you might have to start from square one with a new team.
Come on guys, admit it: This whole project was conceived and produced in order to turn it into a running gag on the radio show, wasn’t it? It’s supposed to be awful, and intended to be a spectacular failure, right? Something you can mention in passing for the next five or ten years, and get a guaranteed laugh (and groan) from your audience.
I can just hear it now:
Tom: Hey, piston-puss, I’ve got a great idea!
Ray: Yeah, right. Like that last one about an animated TV show…
Both: Yuk, yuk yuk!
or:
Ray: We just did a test drive on the new Whizmobile 7000. It was, shall we say, an “interesting” experience…
Tom: Oh come on. This thing is a sled. It’s the biggest disaster since “As the Wrench Turns.”
It can’t possibly be that bad on purpose, can it?
We didn’t even bother watching this week’s episode.
Wonder what the ratings for this week are.
Really wondering when they are going to make some type of on air comment about the show.