Review: This American Life (Showtime)

"Best frackin' show ever." - Kara Thrace

From the producer's of "the most influential radio program of this generation [1]," comes ... a television version. Why would you care what I think about it? Watch the first episode for yourself, streamed free from Showtime.

"Ayo, you come at the king, you best not miss. This show didn't miss." - Omar

CH joined me in viewing the pilot episode, and quickly summed up the unease I had when Ira Glass's voiceover first came on: "I feel like I should cover my eyes and just listen." He also correctly called the name of the cloned bull, but in retrospect, I'm not sure why I didn't see it too. That's not fair; You get full credit, CH.

"This American Life is the sh*t!" - Vic Mackey

It was awesome, especially the second act, which covered Improv Everywhere. They opened with footage from Look Up More and No Pants, but not a whole lot of discussion. They focused mostly on Best Gig Ever. The Best Gig Ever discussion suffers without the radio episode's coverage of Ted's Birthday, so after watching the episode, I think it's worth listening to the radio version (Act 2). I really wanted to hear about The Moebius and perhaps Even Better Thans The Real Thing.

"I'd be Lost without This American Life!" - Sawyer

Second episode? Just as good. No full video, but you can see clips here.

It's a 30 minute show, so probably not worth getting Showtime for. What am I saying? Do what you need to do to watch this show! I wonder if you can buy it on iTunes?

[1] David Plotz in Slate's "The 1984 Political Gabfest"