The Death Of The "Bit"

[benjamin]

Let me preface this by saying this thread is in no way a complaint...

Ive been wondering lately, as a fan of the show and of O and A, what has brought about the death of the "bit" based shows?

I first really got into Opie And Anthony way back around 2001 -2002 when their shows were heavy with Anthony impressions... Tom Brokaw, Celine Dion, Dice, etc...
Laugh - out - loud funny sh!t...
It's what got me hooked in the first place...
Anthony's genius impressions...
I still love the show,
(other than Anthony's bullsh!t political / racist rants which are nearly unlistenable),
but I must admit I miss the bits...
And I understand things change and we can't spend our lives reminiscing...

Same goes for Ron and Fez...
I've noticed the bits getting fewer and more far between...
Less characters... Less prepared bits...
That being said I understand the Dave vs Watley stuff is probably a bit...

What has contributed to the decline of bits on the virus?

Is it a conscious decision?

Is it because it's an old gimmick?

Has radio just "evolved" and I should get with the times?

Does anyone else feel what I'm saying...?

What do you think?

[jauble]

I think part of it has to do with the break schedule. I do love the gameshow stuff they have been doing on ron and fez though.

[Dude!]

Anthony has a partner
devoid of radio talent

[hotshot70]

Just wondering, are we gonna see any more animations of O&A or Ron & Fez thru I pod? I have all of the current ones downloaded. Would love to see some R&F animations.

[benjamin]

Anthony has a partner
devoid of radio talent

DISAGREE!
:nono:
Opie may not be a COMEDIAN but he IS pure RADIO talent.

He is the brains behind the show as far as I know.

[AndyfromWI]

I'm loving the Ron and Dave bit. The Ron and Opie stuff from Monday was great.

[Contra]

That being said I understand the Dave vs Watley stuff is probably a bit...

Kind of hard to miss bits when they haven't gone anywhere

[benjamin]

Kind of hard to miss bits when they haven't gone anywhere

When the Bit has no payoff...
Is it really a bit?

:blink:

[CuntagiousChris]

DISAGREE!
:nono:
Opie may not be a COMEDIAN but he IS pure RADIO talent.

He is the brains behind the show as far as I know.

Bravo my friend...he gets his in every once in awhile kind of like Fez

[Contra]

When the Bit has no payoff...
Is it really a bit?

:blink:

It's the ultimate bit

[kratos]

The greatest radio bit ever was the Chunks Fatman Diary. So I think there is still a place for a well-done prepared piece.

[underdog]

Listening to Anthony's impressions from the WNEW days, I wonder how I ever thought they were funny. They are brutal. And I thought they were great on WAAF and I owned Demented World and listened to it all the time. That stuff sucks now.

[instrument]

I think its laziness, dave never does board gossip, that sports guy, or let it be known, but we do get that horrible pitchman shit....ugh horrible.

[realmenhatelife]

Atleast for 0&A the internet has become such a huge part of the show. Lets look at this and comment etc- it doesn't drop into bits and characters the same way.

Ant has grown more eccentric, which probably drives him to say things in his own voice instead of an impression.

Jimmy became an every day player- so you can't do a bit in which Opie talks to an Anthony voice without cutting him out. Also, they have commedians in much more regularly, and you need to include the guest.

Sam still does bits, Kenny had a bit going until he ruined it. Jim does Ted.

I just think they did stuff like that because they were worried about filling the show with just two guys, and now they never really have that issue.

[Dude!]

DISAGREE!
:nono:
Opie may not be a COMEDIAN but he IS pure RADIO talent.

He is the brains behind the show as far as I know.

then he should stay behind the show
and behind the scenes
on mike, he is awful...the worst on radio

he repeats all the lines he says that
he thinks are funny (they never are)

he swallows his words and garbles
every sentence

he tries to use different voices that
always fall flat

no one can make an audience wince
like O

[realmenhatelife]

I think Opie can be very funny, he goes through spells where he just kills it. And he will step up and shine some days when Ant is gone. Opies humor and pacing is different than the majority of the people in the room, so I think he doesn't want to mess up the flow.


You could say Opie had a big hand in killing 'the bit.' There was that period of time where after any notion anyone had Opie would start with his "I smell a bit, I smell a bit" and they would never yield anything. Then that morphed into "sometimes it's better to just work the bit out live on the air than actually do the bit" which is a mind blower. I think you could say each of those were the death rattle of the bit.

[Melk]

I think its laziness, dave never does board gossip, that sports guy, or let it be known, but we do get that horrible pitchman shit....ugh horrible.
The best part of Dave's pitchman bit is that he describes an invention that already exists. He is like the red-headed, radio version of Clyde Crashcup from The Alvin Show.

[Melk]

then he should stay behind the show
and behind the scenes
on mike, he is awful...the worst on radio

he repeats all the lines he says that
he thinks are funny (they never are)

he swallows his words and garbles
every sentence

he tries to use different voices that
always fall flat

no one can make an audience wince
like O
I disagree somewhat. When Anthony takes a day off, the show is fine, but when Opie is off the show, the show drags with lifeless energy. Neither of them can fly solo.

I don't like the eccentricities of Opie. He screams stupid lines like, "Give yourself a bell" and "Are you a cheesehead?" under the pretense that annoying things are funny. He calls his wife, her family, and his friends in Philadelphia, "The Philly Crew." Why? Probably because he is insecure about being older than his wife.

Opie and Anthony are the reason I subscribed to XM in 2005. But I have grown gradually less enchanted by the their show. I don't blame Jim Norton. He has been just consistently adapting to his personal changes without compromising his comedic style. But Opie and Anthony rely on their talentless producers to enhance the show. Sam, Steve and Danny. Mostly what they do is find ways to goof on E-Rock. I just don't dislike E-Rock enough to enjoy listening to him get humiliated on the air. Mostly I feel sorry for him. They complaining about not being able to get bits on the air that I don't want to hear (Reddest Ass Contest anyone?). Opie isn't the problem, the whole show is stuck on some kind of autopilot.

As for Ron and Fez, I have been enjoying it tremendously recently. I wish Earl was back and Mooch was on staff, but otherwise, I think it is as good as it has been on XM.