Episode 39
Broadcast @ Edge Radio, Friday 23 June 2023.
Also available on YouTube.
In this episode, we explore more lessons from classic radio series intros (see The Fat Man and Gangbusters). We focus on Duffy’s Tavern, a 1940s comedy show, and give it a Media Mothership makeover at the end. We also discuss some hot topics in media culture from AI art to banning coding books in jails.
Sources
If the ‘Secret Invasion’ title credits aren’t an ethical use of AI art, what is? | TechCrunch
What would 'Jesus' do? Here's one way to find out | SBS News
Ohio Prisons Ban Coding Books But Allow Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' (gizmodo.com)
Duffy's Tavern - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffy%27s_Tavern .
Duffy's Tavern - 160 Episodes of the Classic Old Time Radio comedy .... https://archive.org/details/duffys-tavern-1947-12-03-263-jean-sablon .
Duffys Tavern | Comedy | Old Time Radio Downloads. https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/comedy/duffys-tavern .
Duffy's Tavern - CLASSIC RADIO SHOWS. https://www.myclassicradio.net/duffystavern.html
Transcript
This transcript was generated by speech-to-text AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you have questions about any of the information found here, please reach out to us at: mediamothership993fm at gmail . com
DR CRAIG
Hey, hey, hey. You're listening to media mothership here on Edge Radio 99.3. Today's show is set up again around our investigation into how to do good intros to radio, which. This is an example which has. To get people ready. For why good intros are important. Yeah, by demonstrating how challenging. You know, truth can be. Yeah. So welcome to media mothership broadcasting out of Edge Radio Studios in Nepal, Luna, Hobart TAS. I'm your host. Doctor Craig joined by Lord Taylor. Hello. Yep. And we explore how media can shape our understanding of the world around us. We're streaming on edgeradio.org dot AU. As well as on YouTube and Twitch, you can message us on the chat on. 04888. 11707 So you'll need to minimise that screen so I can see the chats.
LORD TAYLOR
Not wrong one. There you go.
DR CRAIG
Yeah. So today we're going to discuss some news. And special effects such as that deliberately chosen special effects sound of creakiness? Yes, because we're also doing some creaky classic Golden Age radio. Ohh, thank God we've got you. They're gonna save the show, man. I am. Yep. So I'm just gonna ask you to play jingles. Yep. Sure. I hope you've. Got a lot, yeah.
LORD TAYLOR
I've got heaps great.
DR CRAIG
And these are all jingles you've created yourself. Well, Taylor, excellent from, you know, previous.
LORD TAYLOR
Yes, they are. Yep, from about 10 years worth of making songs, and I've chosen the weirdest ones.
DR CRAIG
It's all paying off now. OK. So we're gonna do Duffy's Tavern, but we'll get around to that more in the second. Half of the. Show. But first news, let's play. Fantastic. I feel like we're a youth broadcaster. And this show. Is is a. Youth show. Yeah, more because of those. Alright, so story number one is again these stories are all AI related. I'm pretty fixated on AI.
LORD TAYLOR
It's it's quite strange.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, it's not strange, it's. Din So the first news piece is indeed if the secret invasion title credits aren't an ethical use of AI art, then what is? And this is?
LORD TAYLOR
Does any of that mean?
DR CRAIG
Ohh wow. Alright, let's unpack it. So this is an article from TC Tech. Crunch and it's talking about the latest Marvel contribution to media culture. OK, which is the secret invasion series. So that's just launched on Disney plus. And there was controversy around the fact that. The title sequence. Generated by AI I. Don't know if. It's Dali or stable diffusion, but it's it caused a, you know, polarisation or or a lot of angry comments about how cop out this was, how the timing's really bad during the riders. Strike and flagging concerns around AI, but I I like the tech crunch article because it maps out. What the intent was behind this to begin with, right? So it talks about how you know, this wasn't a Disney executive or a Marvel executive, just typing in. A couple of. Words and and. Making it so this was a creative choice by the company that does credits such as this as well as tonnes of others, to basically set up. The key theme of this series, so secret invasion for those that don't know, is about kind of aliens who can shape shift to look like humans. So it's got this whole kind of questioning of who is real and not real. So in some ways. You know, they're they're. Framing of using the AI and and there's a couple of quotes where they interviewed creative staff about it was to deliberately speak to the theme of the secret invasion piece, which is all about, you know, the the kind of. Duplication, copying of humans and the kind of paranoia, fear and also often Ness of that copy that they're speaking to. We might have a message. I'll read that later the copying. So if you watch the opening credits for those people that have Disney plus, you'll notice that. You'll notice that it's it's. It's it's deliberately off putting, right? It's deliberately all the janky AI image 5, so it's it's kind of got the likeness likeliness like likelihood, likeliness of Samuel Jackson, but it's off. It's an off kind of. It's not a photoshopped image of Samuel Jackson. It's it's a kind of computer generated AI. Offnews so it's it's, you know, I the the hands look OK in it just something but yeah. So yeah, look it's it's interesting how this company itself was was arguing that you know the the choice of doing AI here fits the. The theme of it, which is all about, you know, the the act of copying, in this case the secret invasion, is about Earth being invaded by shapeshifting. Aliens. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
LORD TAYLOR
Because it's like you look at it now.
DR CRAIG
Yeah. Yeah. So you can certainly cheque out, do your YouTube search or tech Crunch has it on there. Their web page as well, it's.
Speaker 3
But yeah, what's?
DR CRAIG
Interesting about it. Is it it? They're not disguising the AI. It's not like they've asked the AI to create it, and then they've spent a few days improving it. They've pretty much left it as what many people are familiar with as the first draught that AI will will produce. You know that kind of slightly off. Slightly wrong. Uncanny Valley lines of it. Yeah, and. And and deliberately aping other styles. Right you can. You can kind of immediately sense that it's just copying styles.
LORD TAYLOR
Yeah, it's quite like the old 1970s. Sort of like science fiction covers. Ohh periodical yeah.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, yeah, it has that. Yeah, that, that it kind of like a a office seek. Those covers that used to appear on offset Clark books or Heinlein or. Frank Herbert or or could be another Conan barbarian. Yeah. Yep. Yes, yes, that's that's which I thought was interesting cuz that's rather than just complaining or setting up a polarising debate. It's saying, well, it's not as easy as that. In this case. There's an actual artistic reason for it. Which I thought was interesting. Next piece of news. If we've got a Jingle for it. Wow again, I'm enjoying the kind of mechanical sounds it does fit. The AI next piece is from CBS News talking about what would Jesus do? Here's one way to find out, and it's a chat bot that's been created. As a I Jesus. And it was just a matter of time before we arrived at this point. What what's fun about this piece is that. Christians are also praising it right, saying that, you know, this is a is an interesting entryway to having a discussion that can lead to a gateway into some themes of Christianity, right? So there's a a quote here from Mr Summer Lane. Who is a philosopher from the University of Vienna who has been using using this service? And he was saying, you know, it's interesting is in his point of view you end up with a pretty solid church service. He feels from this he's quoted as saying in the next few years, or perhaps even months, we will see the emergence of sects devoted to the worship of our. Official intelligence, I mean, I I we've always encountered that as a joke in terms of. I do remember the what is it? The Reddit plays Twitch. Twitch plays Pokemon one. Which one was it? The where the one of the early Pokémon Games was basically crowd sourced in terms of its moves.
LORD TAYLOR
How are you?
DR CRAIG
And as those moves occurred, various kind of fake cults developed around some of the the moments with the. The Pastafarians you know, so there's, you know, I I don't know if I'd if I'd see it as as seriously as as this force. Is seeing it, but yeah. We could start a cold.
LORD TAYLOR
Up. I think it's crazy. Professor MacArthur believes that there are a number of ways people could come to see AI as a higher power.
DR CRAIG
Delusional, right? I mean, yeah. I mean, at this point, I think the what's been interesting to me about some of the discussions around the level of AI and chat bot we're at is, is the point that it's replicating and trained on material which is copying and reflecting. Existing data it's not. Silly that that kind of what is it? That artificial, generalised intelligence? It's not yet at that next point it's it's simply being able to create meaningful replies or answers to questions because of its training on previous one it's it's not. You know which I guess is the speculation that this this piece to say, but. It is interesting. You know, I I would like the. You know, what would Dumbledore do? We were close to it with. Some of our theatrical dramas and as you point out, weirdly, the training that you've done with the Harry Potter books to create. Your fan fictions is that Dumbledore seems to. Be very violent.
LORD TAYLOR
Dumbledore is always very violent.
DR CRAIG
And it must be his proximity to violence.
LORD TAYLOR
I assume so, yeah.
DR CRAIG
And again, that's an example of, yeah, this, this, the training you can do. Can get things wrong right that the dumbledores character, because we assume the training that the AI had to create the fan fiction pieces of dumb of Dumbledore's character, and the pieces you've created was around violent acts. It's confused that to say, therefore, Dumbledore is violence. So yeah, what would Dumbledore do? Might actually not be the best you get from that. Would you like to? Get an app like. That would you who, what fictional or historical character would you like to train up to then? You know, be the chat bot. You could ask questions for like you know what? Would Jesus do kind? Queen Elizabeth Queen, like the one that. Just passed away. Ohh OK. It's going to that. That's why. I mean, she's. Yeah. She's a a famous figure. Yeah, she's she's she is she known as as as a wise person is. There kind of.
LORD TAYLOR
Like, well, she's always done really good.
DR CRAIG
Nailed it. Yeah, I've not listened much into them. What are they?
LORD TAYLOR
Like always uplifting, I mean the written by somebody else. Probably a great ghost writer, but they always have messages of hope. Uplifting this.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's a good data set. To train on for you know, what would Queen Elizabeth do? Because you know you're going. To get a kind of Christmas end of year statement as we look forward to the next year, we can be bold in our hopes of greatness like that. That's. Yeah. OK. That surprised me. Yeah. Yeah. A real historical figure.
LORD TAYLOR
Yeah, well, that's what happens when you put me on. The spot, and I haven't thought of anything.
DR CRAIG
Well, you are well tailor, so royalty. Alright, let's go to. The next article. With the Jingle OK. You're listening to media mothership. That one just felt like I could do an outro with. It was nice. All right, next articles from Cracked and it picks up this idea that we talked about two or three weeks ago where. A council in Victoria had given for administrative purposes all the trees that they were caretaking email addresses for administrative reasons, right, and then the public got to know about them and started sending love letters to them and.
Speaker
Oh, that's right.
DR CRAIG
Here's an article from Cracked, which has been which has done a deep trawl through the Internet, finding all of these emails that were mentioned in fictional shows which for a while actually existed and has tried to email them again. So the headline is here's what happened. Here's what happens when you email Herman Simpson Bender. From Futurama and a bunch of other fictional characters, and basically it goes through a number of moments in a a show like the one for Bender, for example from future. And his email is bender@ilovebender.com and it's it's it's origin is from a direct to DVD movie in 20/07 called Benders, Big Score where his email is is mentioned right. And then people began to email it. And for what it did exist? But their investigation has shown that now nothing happens. You know, you get bounced emails. So there's been a from Futurama, there's Homer from The Simpsons, called Chunky Lover 53@aol.com. And the current response for that is addressed, not found your message. Chunk your love at 53 cannot be delivered and the origins of this is. Back in 20/08, Simpsons writer Matt Selman wrote a piece about Homer's email address for the Times article, right? So allegedly, yeah. He had an email called Chunky Lover 53. Parks and Recreation stink Master, 69, there's any stink. Bugs and recreation pens out there again. An email used in the show that now you know the the responses addressed not found. Todd Packer from the office has Packer. At dundermifflin.com, unfortunately you get delivery incomplete now. This. Yeah, this email again is referenced in an episode of the office. Do you recall?
Speaker
It Oh yeah.
DR CRAIG
Because yeah, because what's the set up with that email? He. Michael Scott accidentally sends.
LORD TAYLOR
It yes, he's accidentally sending a an image to packet. He just meant that he means to send it to Packer but sends it to.
DR CRAIG
Packaging, right? So instead of Packer at Dunder Mifflin, he sends it to packaging Dunder Mifflin. Yep. So yeah, the crack team emailed Packers email but didn't get a response. Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. Tatertotfreak@hotmail.com and again the origins are from a 2012 episode. Where? Which? Yeah, it was meant to exist then. I'm not familiar with strong bad from Homestar Runner. Yeah. So we'll skip that. Yeah, well, Mr robot. Elliott Taltson at Pronto Mail. Yeah. So again, Cherry Gryphon from family. Guy has an email. Bojack.horseman.cuddly.whiskers.cuddly.whiskers@harvard.edu. Lewismustdie@yahoo.com is Stewie Gryphon one which is I'm using in joke. Veep featured an email king of the Hill it's always Sunny in Philadelphia. F.reynolds@warthogforwardslashorgchart.edu. Lisa Simpson. Yeah, unfortunately all of these. Came back as, as you know, address not found. Which is a shame. Yeah, again, that idea that, that, that particular moments emails exist and these were all fictional, they they could have. Been used as a joke. I know during series sometimes there will be people that will take the Twitter accounts of particular characters and then there will be a debate which happens with someone else. Like there'll be one with the. You know, Anakin Skywalker's Twitter account starting to slam down the owner of the Obi Wan Kenobi Twitter account, and they'll do this mini fanfiction of banter. It's fun while it lasts, but yeah, then it does disappear and you try to retrace, like, where are they now? The Anakin Skywalker. But would it be interesting to you? Would you like to go back and find some of these emails? And would you actually like to? Have a conversation. With any of these fictional email holders.
LORD TAYLOR
Well, not really, cause it's either gonna be like a stock standard response or as it says with the IT was the Homer one. One of the writers signed up for his private email address as the chunk of the 53 and. He started replying as Homer, and then he got so many he just put dough back and then just gave up completely.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, you'd be swamped. I mean, it would be something you could create a chat bot to do. Yeah. Yeah, right. Potentially there's there's a great future there of doing a one of those kind of real life RPG things with a chat bot that would have unlimited time and patience to do that. Any character in particular you'd like to have. Create a chat bot. Yeah, Bender. Homer.
LORD TAYLOR
Ohh I don't. I don't like that.
DR CRAIG
Stuff stink. Master 69, from parks and.
LORD TAYLOR
Rec. I'd probably say, you know, Packer, Ralph from wreck it Ralph.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, yeah, that would be kind of nice, alright. Let's skip to the next Jingle. It's nice. Yeah, I forgot about this article. Thanks for bringing it up. Right. The This article is is one that really interested me. And I confess, yeah, I haven't read it all, but I love the title. And the title is prisoners. Consider Java coding books more dangerous than mine Kampf. And yeah, what? What's interesting here is that, yeah, at A at A at a prison, the list of banned books doesn't include text like my comp. This was in Ohio and. Yeah, it's saying that people can get their hands on, you know, these classics of extremist. Visions such as Mein Kampf. But the list of books that are banned include a smarter way to learn JavaScript and effective JavaScript and the just.
LORD TAYLOR
And it's effective. Java, Java and JavaScript are different.
DR CRAIG
All right, effective Java and smarter. Way to learn JavaScript, correct? I learning something right now. So the justification for these bans is apparently that these coding guides pose a threat to the rehabilitation of inmates. Yeah. Again, it's that kind of reflection of the fear that I guess hacking has computer usage has. It's a really surprising. Yeah, look at the effect it's having. On key Taylor. Are you surprised that you know? We we're still living in this kind. Of fear of. Hackers learning how to do JavaScript and where could you go with JavaScript that could possibly be menacing?
LORD TAYLOR
Well, I suppose it's just learning about how computers work. I guess. I suppose you could make some sort of. Bad sort of thing with it. Still information sort of thing.
DR CRAIG
Like a bad. Well, I mean, you could do bad video game. You know, I mean the the the step. To steal information. I don't know if you could get that from a a smarter way to learn JavaScript.
LORD TAYLOR
It it could be applied I guess.
Speaker 3
Well, it's like banning.
DR CRAIG
I mean, at university, right, there's computing. Courses it's like. You know, hey, professor, there's no JavaScript learning here. That's that's all on the side there. Yeah, come come back later at night and and I'll teach you those dark arts. Just JavaScript and.
LORD TAYLOR
Considered the dark arts? Of course not.
DR CRAIG
So it is funny that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Has made this decision. Vision of banned books, including yeah, the effective JavaScript.
LORD TAYLOR
JavaScript. That's my favourite programming language.
DR CRAIG
Should I be worried about you? Probably. Yeah. I mean, if if if prisons are banning the reading of JavaScript books. On on elements of Java. Yeah. What? What? What? What fear should we all hold towards those currently trained in these arts? Ohh.
LORD TAYLOR
Nothing, because I don't know much.
DR CRAIG
It's an interesting. Moral panic cause yeah, there there were moments like in the past with Dungeons and Dragons, we're simply having possession of a D&D. That people could in the 80s have a fear that you were into Satanism all of a sudden. Yeah. If you're listening to heavy metal Now, it turns out, yeah. If in your school backpack is elements of Java. You're immediately going to have suspicions around that you're criminal. Yeah, you're part of anonymous. It's anonymous, still around.
LORD TAYLOR
I haven't heard much from them. Yeah.
DR CRAIG
Well, maybe that's because the prisons have cleaned up their effective Java library. You know it's it's working, I guess. Fascinating. Fascinating. What will be interesting to do? An analysis of Australian prisons and what books are banned here? Yeah, and if any Australian prisons similarly have banned Java coding books. It's a concern. I yeah. Yeah. I think we could. Yeah. I I'm curious about this. I I think we could, you know, if it wasn't real. Well, I would say it's a fascinating little radio drama to create. And that's well, yeah, that's news. That's the news. So we do a Jingle well, we could. Do the the. Flash piece. OK, that's it.
Speaker
It was good.
DR CRAIG
Wrinkling in the background. Yeah, I did find one interesting article on the Flash movie. You haven't seen it yet, though, have you? No, I haven't. OK.
LORD TAYLOR
And I probably won't. And if I do, it'll be in a way that I don't have to pay for it. It just. Has to be on the television.
DR CRAIG
Is this something to do with Java? Again, is this Java coding? You can use Java coding.
LORD TAYLOR
Skills to watch it? No, just. I'm gonna watch it for free. Wherever it is. Just on the television. If it ever comes out. And even then, I might not watch it.
DR CRAIG
You should just see Java skills. I mean it's you. Get out of free gaol. Card. Get out of free. Yeah, it's like the you pulled over for speeding. And it's like. You know, you just have a Java book sitting next to you and the police officer will come and go. Oh, God. Sorry Sir.
LORD TAYLOR
No, but that's evidence of criminality. You have to throw it out the window.
DR CRAIG
Yeah. Yeah, but, well, maybe they're they're. So threatened by that they don't want. You to hack them. Anyway, article about the Flash just isn't good endpoint for DCU. What I liked about this article from IGN was that it made it a kind of clever point that that. Latest Flash movie is all about a multiverse. Yeah. And the character development that the flash goes through is the idea that, you know, you really can't change the past. You have to own the past. I mean, it's not really a spoiler. It's a classic. Kind of trope trope. But what this point this this article is pointing out is that it's ironic. That the DCU can't learn from the very theme of that movie, that the movie in itself is about erasing the Snyder verse and you know. Snyder versus, you know, have dinner conversations about the Snyder versus no, it's not like a kind of like, hey died of us today was a bit weird. Like, OK, it's neither of us. Is a reference to the director who made the Man of Steel and the following films, and there was that brutal kind of. Fan backlash with how Justice League was created was transferred to Joss Whedon to do the final bit where they changed it slightly anyway. The idea being that. The side of US didn't quite work and now under the new leadership of Gunn, they're basically cutting the current DCU and relaunching it all. So I think we've still got the acronym movie, But this. It's interesting that then so the flash is kind of one of the last films in this vision of the DCU and the feeling like there's always been criticism of it. And there's been course corrections, and so this article was talking about how this is of course correction, but also it's interesting that it's all about, you know, owning the past in terms of the character. Barry Allen has to own the past and and understand that you know you can't just erase the past and have a clean slate and move. Forward, you have to come to terms with it and make it part of who you are. You have to accept it. Yeah, yet yeah, here. We have the DC we know is going to erase this whole series of films. In fact, one of the the key characters, the Batman character, the actor that played Ben Affleck, literally is erased and replaced. Another character in this film, and we know that, you know, Superman is being recast. So it's ironic that the DCU is actually kind of doing the errors. That's Barry Allen, the.
LORD TAYLOR
Character does with the show. Yeah, yeah.
DR CRAIG
The characters doing within the. Show and they're not like. So yeah, I thought it was clever. I just wanted to call that out. It was a clever article. Read it, IGN, put a link up to it. It was. Yeah. Should we go to? A Jingle? Sure.
Speaker 3
Alright, I was. Yeah, wrapping now we've got the next.
DR CRAIG
Segment next segment. Yeah. Yeah. So next segment is Top 10, best old radio show intros 1. And the last we left you with was uhm. That man, and now we're moving on to Duffy's Tavern. So let me just queue it up. So for those that haven't listened enough, just. Have them before. We'll use. Jeff Jorgensen's video on the top 10 best old radio show intros part one. Set it up because I had not heard of. Duffy's Tavern. Before going through this list and send me.
Speaker 3
Down quite a rabbit hole, but.
DR CRAIG
Let's start with Jeff Jorgensen's summary of it.
Speaker 4
#8 duffys Tavern. The only comedy on my list, the Duffys Tavern intro, immediately brought the listener into the action with a phone call from owner Duffy to the Taverns manager Archie, played by Ed Gardner. Duffy himself never appeared in the programme.
Speaker 5
But the one.
Speaker 4
Way banter from Archie was different every week and set the table for the antics of the episode. Despite being billed as where? The elite meat to eat. Duffy's Tavern was not.
DR CRAIG
Oh, sorry. Hold on, I'm needed.
Speaker 4
Here's just one hilarious and every week and set the table for the antics of the episode. Despite being billed as where the elite meet to eat, Duffy's Tavern was not a high class establishment. Here's just one hilarious intro example.
Speaker 6
Hello Duffy's determine where you leaked meat deedi China man. Just speaking. Duffy ain't here. Hello, Duffy. Nothing known. And letter carrier was just then delivered a stack of poisoned pen lettuce. Well, so much for the bulk of the mail. Now for the complaints. There's a letter here from the Department of Sanitation. Yeah, they say we'll have to do something about the garbage. Duffy. Yeah, they claim it ate a hole through the bottom of that truck.
LORD TAYLOR
I mean, it is hilarious.
Speaker 3
Yeah, I kind of.
DR CRAIG
Like that idea of. Garbage eating through the garbage truck. Because it's so toxic. So yeah, as you can tell. It's a kind of. Comedy show Sorry and. Yeah, performance very different from the other two we had. So we had the fat man. And gangbusters, which are much more conventional intros, because if we have a look at our list of how a intro is best created, the key elements of an intro is that it should hook the listeners attention. So a radio show intro should grab the listeners attention in the 1st 10 seconds or so and make them want to stay. Tuned for more. So. So in a way that kind of like a phone call coming.
LORD TAYLOR
In it's like direct into the action.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, yeah. And you hear a funny joke and you're kind of hooked. If you're finding that funny to hear the next setups and routines, the elements of a radio show should include a voice. So this one clearly is mainly the voice, Archie. Who is the manager of the? Tavern Duffy's Tavern music it does have a kind of piano hunky tonk intro or jazz piano intro. Sound effects? You got the phone ringing? Yeah.
Speaker 3
Yeah, right. So you've got.
DR CRAIG
A prop and within that. Prop. A whole setup of the. Theatre of the mind that we're visualising. And episode information. Yeah, a lot of these have announces, so I'll show you. Play a clip in a second where you know it's set up with an announcer first, and then they go to Duffy's tab. So these elements should be used strategically. And creatively to create. A vivid and realistic soundscape that appeals to the listeners, imagination and emotions. They should convey the main thing, questions and problems that will be explored through the show. Yeah. So I think people get quickly that it's a comedy show. So it establishes genre and turn very quickly through. The gags like these are clear gags. Setting characters are good in terms of, you know, the phone call and the device and the phone. Call sets up. A really clear idea of the characters and what they're doing, and guests are coming in to the pub. And yeah, I guess there's some anticipation and. Curiosity also that should be created in there. Any any thoughts so far from you I can play another example I'll play.
LORD TAYLOR
Because we've both made ones in this style, I forgot.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, we have.
LORD TAYLOR
That it needs to be. To create a vivid and realistic soundscape that appeals to the listener's imagination and emotions in one one.
DR CRAIG
Yeah. And I think through that failure. Just got to call it. Out I think through that failure we entertain people because, yeah, I mean, I I certainly, where did mine go wrong now? Don't worry, we'll get to. And I'll unpack all the failures of of mine. But they're all as. Bob Ross would say happy accidents. Fair enough, right? So full of happy accidents. What's really interesting about the intro is or the the setup for Duffy's Tavern. Why it's considered such a good example of an introduction. Is that it has. It's a kind of guest show, right? So guests faint with celebrity guests come. In, right. Yeah, quite often. And each episode will feature a a famous Hollywood star or singer or performer who comes in and is part of the setup and routine. So I'll play a quick clip for the intro for the. Newton bell. I don't know if any listeners remember Burton Newton Bell. And there's an actor.
LORD TAYLOR
Well, I don't know. Who that is?
DR CRAIG
In the 19. 40s. So of course, yeah, this series was during the 40s. So the first episode 41. So yeah, so this is the Milton Bell episode setup. What is it? It's coming. It's, you know, it's got that rotating ring thing on. YouTube, right? Yeah, buffering. There you go.
Speaker 8
The Special Service division invites you soldiers, sailors and Marines of the United Nations to drop in at Duffy's Tavern.
DR CRAIG
So kind of announce to that and we have the Jazz parent.
Speaker 7
Hello stuff these. What do you eat? Meat. Tea. Don't you? The manager speaking Duffy ain't here. Ohh, Duffy Duffy. You know who's coming down here tonight? Milton Brill. Yeah, the star of the no zig field folly. Has he got nice legs?
DR CRAIG
Is it really? I'm supposedly cause? Is it like there's moments where it dates badly? Are all so nice in terms of like? Well, that's data. I mean, there's there's misogyny, sexism dripping out the sides of the whole series. What's interesting, there's also a, A, a regular female. Character Mrs Duffy, who's the wife of the owner. But she is a constantly flirtatious, predatory woman, always looking to hit on some of these these guys. We'll keep listening.
Speaker 7
Coffee. Coffee, please. You'll remember, Milton, the kid that used to steal. The joke books. Yeah. Then say that he made up the jokes himself. Yeah, that's the guy. Stuffy with you. Everybody's a bum.
DR CRAIG
So it's got also that wonderful vernacular right, one of the other reasons why this is considered a really good intro is the distinctive voice of Archie that we're hearing there. The manager that he's speaking in a really thick New York accent and he's using all of these mixed metaphors and the wrong word. Sometimes, which you know it's interesting because, yeah, people point to how radios changed, like from the 90s with Triple J bringing in more authentic Australian voices and being less concerned with that BBC voice. It's fascinating here in 1941. Duffy's Tavern being considered important because it's funny and authentic to the New York accent, and as all these references and vernacular like is a bum of that day, which was really, really endearing. Also, I didn't mention at the start. It also has this catchy slogan that it uses the. For all of the episodes, which is where the elite meat to eat. Which I guess you know. You got Hollywood celebrities coming in, so there is some eliteness, but it's meant to be a kind of, you know, very much. The regular cast are kind. Of this working class. Bar that's not at all elite. It's actually quite low class. So yeah, I guess playing into that, that humour of it as well. Let's listen to a little bit more to get some of that flavour.
Speaker 7
Well, Duffy, why don't you be more like me? You know the New Year's resolution I made. Stop stealing from the cash register. No, Duffy, I resolved that. I will help my fellow man be he mineral vegetable. Or even you, Duffy.
DR CRAIG
So yeah, there's actually, you know, listening to quite a few episodes. There's actually some really clever use of language in later episodes where he'll use, yeah, mixed metaphors. He'll use this phrase called a a malaprop.
LORD TAYLOR
Yeah, Malapropism, what is a? Malaprop I can't remember. I don't remember the word.
DR CRAIG
OK. I'll grab up later. Yeah. So he it's it's malaprop. Yeah. So what's interesting again is the fact that, yeah, it's a clever intro in terms of its authenticity. It's got a it's got a catchy slogan, distinctive voice, a simple premise which sets up a kind of interview thing where he's just the. Owner of the bar and people are coming in so it gets them to interview celebrities and talk about entertainment, news and so forth. Yeah, very, very successful series. What's also interesting is that it has been referenced in a number of pop culture pieces. It's considered to be the inspiration for the the cheers 1980s. Cheers situation come. Series, and indeed it was Co created by James Burrows, who's the son of Duffy's Tavern Co creator Abe Burrows. So yeah, again, Duffy's having seen as the progenitor of cheers from 1980s as The Simpsons have a number of jokes set up around. Duffy's Tavern. Mow the bartender, for instance. Deliberately shouts it out in an episode where he says most heaven where the elite meet to drink instead of eat. Yeah. So yeah, quite quite a lot of a lot of interesting references. Now, given all of those strengths, did you want to go first with the the piece you've created in tribute to Duffys? Yep.
LORD TAYLOR
If if you want me. To So what I've taken from this from listening to Duffy's Tavern is in putting a lot of bad jokes and yeah, jokes that. Look at words being used in two different ways to poor effect, so that's what I went with with mine.
DR CRAIG
Well, the floor is yours.
LORD TAYLOR
OK, let's hit the floor. Hi. Hello. You've reached media mothership with Doctor Craig and Lord Taylor. It's Lord Taylor here. Doctor Craig's busy being a dancing queen. He's gone off to see the Abbott tour. How can I help? Oh, hello, doctor Craig. I didn't recognise your voice. Yes, yes, everything's going well. I thought you were the amateur. Oh, the avatar. What were you doing there? You wanted to see if venison came from Venice. Oh, well, I don't know when it comes to Venetians, I'm blind on the issue. Well, media Mother ship is going specifically while you're away. Well, actually, I notice that there's a little bit of trouble with the microphones. Every time I sneeze it says boot pump. Afterwards I'll demonstrate. Let me just sprinkle some white pepper over everything. There we go. OK.
Speaker 3
Bilge pump. Bilge pump.
LORD TAYLOR
We also got some more hate mail. I returned it back to your wife like last time. Also, I attempted to replace you with an AI. Hope you don't mind. Would you like? To meet him.
DR CRAIG
Alright. Hey everyone. I'm doctor Craig 2.0. In my spare time, I like to. Count to 10 and dance naked in. The university corridor.
LORD TAYLOR
Sorry, Craig, but as you can hear, he's just better than you and Craig 2.0 just really appreciates my cooking. So you just going to have to be replaced after what you said about my beef brisket. Dry. It was covered in gravy. What's wrong with you exactly?
DR CRAIG
Lord Taylor makes excellent profit roles.
LORD TAYLOR
There we go. This is what true appreciation looks like. And when you?
DR CRAIG
Hey, what's this stuff?
LORD TAYLOR
It's white pepper doctor Craig 2.0.
Speaker
What is that?
Speaker 3
Theatre of the.
DR CRAIG
Mind that is real theatre of the mind. Bilge pump.
Speaker 3
Yeah. Was that random?
LORD TAYLOR
Yeah, it was random. Hopefully my humour is heavily influenced from like Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer so.
DR CRAIG
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, where would I know? Them from what are some of? The pieces they've created that.
LORD TAYLOR
Reeves and Mortimer. I've been on like. What I liked you a couple of.
DR CRAIG
Times. Ah, yes. OK. Yes, yes, that BBC comedy show where. Yes, they have to guess whether or not what they're saying is true or not. Yes. Yeah, that's quite good. Peep Show the Peep Show, guys. Right, sometimes Mitchell.
LORD TAYLOR
Yeah, yeah. Yep.
DR CRAIG
Yes. Yeah. OK. Yeah, that it was absurd.
Speaker 3
Yes, and and it it definitely I like.
DR CRAIG
The the fact that it did set up the phone call so it had that very important ingredient from Duffys Tavern. What was the? Background sound because it sounded. Just odd. It was like an office.
LORD TAYLOR
Really it? Well, the particular sound effect that I used was atmosphere from a Korean library.
DR CRAIG
Wow atmosphere from a Korean library. I love that that's quite deep because I would never have guessed that. But now knowing it's Korean life makes it even odder because you're delivering it as kind of the radio show. And there's a phone call. That come in, I thought the gags landed. As well as they do in Duffys Tavern. What was it cause we had? The the the mail. The heat mail. Yeah. Return to the wife. Ho ho and ohh. What were the other? Was there any other forgettable?
LORD TAYLOR
Joke. It's forgettable, obviously. Uh, there was the the the, the, the Venice from.
DR CRAIG
Oh yeah, what was the abattoir? Saboteur, saboteur. Sounds like on a tour to Abbott.
LORD TAYLOR
Go into that.
DR CRAIG
ABBA tour. Yeah. Yeah, got I I could hear Abbott Tour and I was thinking, is it a tour to Abbott? But I wasn't clever enough to get ABA tour, so you thought. Yes, I was going to the, which is a good it might be a malaprop. And the definition of malar probe is. Which in mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. For example, saying his hits from both sides of the plate, his and Fabius, instead of his ambidextrous. Ohh, right. He hits from both sides of the plate. Ohh, he's a baseball player. Yeah, I was thinking. See eating something. Eating. No. So his baseball player and he he's. He says he's amphibious rather. Than ambidextrous? Yep. So here we have. ABBA tour, rather than abattoir and then that leads to another joke about me wanting to see if. Veil comes Venice. Venison comes from Venice, which is another malson.
LORD TAYLOR
Because Venus, Sun, Venus, sun. Ah, so therefore comes from Venice.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, Venice, San, the son of Venice. Yeah.
LORD TAYLOR
And then, of course, there's the with Venetians on blunt on the issue.
DR CRAIG
As well, Venetian, blind, correct. Yeah, it feels like work, definitely. That is hard work. Oh yeah.
LORD TAYLOR
We got a text in it says love it. Great work Lord well. Thank you very.
DR CRAIG
Much is that when your chat bots programme. Ohh no thank you real person for that, but wait until mine releases now the flood of comments that will be received from. I liked it. I applaud. It's absurdity and the Korean Library. The Korean Library was a stand up for me. All right. So he's mine. So mine I set up around the idea of having an announcer first see what's happening because there are a couple of different routines I was going to. I was torn between two different scripts. One is the script that I went with. The other script I was going to do, which was that Duffy's Tavern sponsors. Right. And they're they're calling in to cancel our sponsorship.
Speaker 3
I still do. It's actually saying that it sounds better than.
DR CRAIG
What I went with. But that was one. So what? It was gonna be was a phone call to us in the studio from Duffys Tavern. Cancelling the sponsorship, which led to a bad joke. Yeah, but instead I went with the characters. So I this is more of a fan fiction piece where the characters from Daffys Tavern are doing the show. I didn't want to get into copyright breach, so the off brand Duffy Duffy's Tavern that yeah, and mine semantic, where the Duffys Tavern manager has had to take over for us. And do the show. So the the intro. Is setting up around. Yeah, here's media membership. And the host is the Duffys Tavern host, and it just seems. So it's exhausting just saying that. So we'll see if it works. Here's here's mine. I'll play it back from zero. Here's my tribute to the Duffys Tavern comedy radio dramas from the 1940s for media mothership.
Speaker 9
Where the elite meat to eat? Duffy ain't here, but Archie is and he's got. A special treat. For you tonight. He's hosting media mothership. The show that brings you the latest news and views from the world of entertainment. And now here he is. Nana knows everything about showbiz, Archie.
Speaker 5
Welcome to Duffy's Tavern, where the beer is cold and the. Talk is hot. I'm your host. Archie, the man with the plan and the brain with the strain. We've got a show for you. Tonight, that'll knock your. Socks off and make your head spin like a. Top. So sit tight and loosen your belt because we're about to serve up some verbal vittles that will leave you licking your lips and scratching your head. We've got a mixed bag of guests tonight from the high and mighty to the low and flighty. So grab a cold one and settle in because it's going to be a wild ride here at Duffy's Tavern.
LORD TAYLOR
Grab a cold one.
DR CRAIG
Yes, yes. So what? What did you think the?
LORD TAYLOR
Laugh track is what made it.
DR CRAIG
Funny really is interesting, isn't it? Once you put a laugh track behind something. It prompts you to laugh, right? Even if there's nothing to. Laugh exactly it it. And it you can see how effective canned laughter is to generate laughter and how much of A crutch it can be that one of the things I love. On YouTube is. Where they'll remove the laugh track from. There's a famous one with friends. We have removed the laugh track of Ross's routine with the sandwich. Episode removed the laugh track and he sounds really murderous like he's a killer and it it's cause all the heavy lifting of this as comedy is the laugh track without Laugh track. It's actually horror. So with this, yeah, it's rescued. Yes, it is rescued by the.
LORD TAYLOR
Laugh track, but at the same time. Like going back to your your previous point, that was just, you were just saying is I saw a it was a video of what's The Big Bang theory which. I I don't particularly do it.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, notoriously. Yeah, yeah.
LORD TAYLOR
But they they placed the laugh track with Ricky Gervais's laughs. And it just makes it absolutely hilarious because he just laughs way too much at really poor jokes.
DR CRAIG
And because, yeah, because it's interesting, putting this one together because for a while I had an edit of it which had, you know, normal crowd laughter. And then I just did child laughter, which is just one child laughing. And it's creepy. Yeah. It didn't land, but maybe, yeah, maybe the me. Keeping it in. The non landing Ness of it, you know, makes it into something more interesting. It was. It was interesting. Yeah, it didn't.
Speaker 3
Land and it.
DR CRAIG
Didn't feel that it drew enough attention to it.
Speaker 3
So it's a.
DR CRAIG
Really difficult art to get to that kind of like you choose something deliberately to be creepy, even though it's conforming to the conventions, there should be laughter. That you put a laugh in, but it's the wrong type of.
Speaker 3
Laugh like the Ricky.
DR CRAIG
Of Islam and because of that it creates an and canniness to it and uncomfort to it. Like you know very much AI art. Yeah, because, yeah, it's it's it. It's breaking the convention in a way that's difficult to put your finger on. Yeah, the laugh track works well. The, the, the thing that I found fun doing it. That I took some pleasure in was having to scream at the end. Because it does slightly shift the genre somewhat, I found in terms of like it's also the fact that it sets it up with the joke around. You know you're in for a wild ride, so I thought thematically, yeah. Roller coaster Ride, scream track. But it does kind of create a bit of a a theatre of the mind for me where everyone else up until that point was a studio audience for bad comedy. Then maybe something's happened to them.
Speaker 3
The floor was opened up.
DR CRAIG
And they've gone into the minsa did you? Theatre of mind.
LORD TAYLOR
That now when when I was listening to it, when there was the screaming. I just like to me it just seems like an excited screaming. Yeah. Beatles scream sort of thing. Yeah. We got another text in. Yeah. Yeah.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, it was, yeah, yeah. Thank you for SMS sing the agreement for that. Yes, the laugh track definitely made. In fact, in many ways, what was interesting listening to yours. Deliberately bad joked. Creation was that it was cringe worthy because of a. Lack of laughter. Like you weren't given any outlets to like. It's interesting laugh track for mine, which has equally poor. In fact, it's it's much less developed comedy in terms of I don't think there are. It was all very kind of just standard, you know, freezing or metaphors. But the laugh track kind of, like keeps it upbeat, whereas yours it just uncomfortable.
LORD TAYLOR
Yeah, well, The thing is, I'm obsessed with watching the US office. So I guess that's kind.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, right. That cringe. And because you choose the background music of a Korean library.
LORD TAYLOR
Of going into my yeah.
Speaker 3
Which I think I felt that.
DR CRAIG
That oppressiveness of the library, right? You're not meant to be talking, but you are talking. So maybe I was picking up. There was the background hum was guilty. Background humming. Yeah, like it was, like, particularly career, right? You should abide by the rules. The I could. I could feel a oppressiveness towards it. Like, sometimes that background. Can be relaxing soothing help you fall asleep, but your choice? Yeah. Kind of David Lynch. Almost. It was almost a juxtaposition rather than. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah. I mean mine. I guess it comes across a little more.
LORD TAYLOR
Conventionally, it does, yes, definitely.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, mainly it was a laugh track.
LORD TAYLOR
But also like sort of more introduction as well.
DR CRAIG
Yeah, the setup is a conventional intro. And also all AI scripted and AI voiced right. So what's interesting here is that the AI voice, I think as soon as I heard the like the first two different software companies, I got to create mine one was that one you always talk about. Through the free licence that you can get that does really nice. Yeah. The second one is just.
LORD TAYLOR
Play DoH T.
DR CRAIG
Clip champ, yeah. Grabbing one of the free ones, which is still fine. But then upping it to the excitement. And and and it just gets it. Wrong, slightly, wonderfully wrong, but we're out. Of time we're.
Speaker 3
Out of time, this is K pop unlimited now.
DR CRAIG
So keep listening. Keep off unlimited here on Edge Radio 99.3. Anyway, this is the medium of Craig saying bye now and keep listening immediately because we're now K pop unlimited.
LORD TAYLOR
Same with Lord Taylor.
DR CRAIG
After I press play.
LORD TAYLOR
You're listening to Edge Radio 99.3 FM.
Comments