Three Degrees of Funny

So I listen to NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! every week. It's a panel news quiz and, like The Daily Show, is a lighthearted way to keep up with US-based news. The panellists are all really good and I googled one of them, Luke Burbank, who was introduced as having a podcast.

I was in the market for a new comedy podcast after Collins and Herring's falling out. I actually thought it was on the cards from the first time I heard them. Creative partnerships are hard to maintain, and, because the act was based on a lot of funny insults, usually at Collins' expense, someone was bound to get the hump sooner or later. I wouldn't have thought we'd see them in action together again but then if The Stone Roses can get back together...

Anyway Luke Burbank. His podcast is called Too Beautiful To Live and it's good, gently humorous fun. He likes his funny little audio clips and one of them seemed like it was from a show so I googled the line of dailogue to see what it was. Turns out it was from an animated series called Archer and I made a mental note to check it out later. As I continued to listen to the podcast, something about it started to remind me of Dr Katz, a hilarious animated short from years ago. Maybe it was Burbank's style or sense of humour, I wasn't sure. In particular the character of Ben, Dr Katz's childish son, came to mind.

So then I investigated Archer. I love it by the way. It turns out that the main character is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, who also did the character of Ben in Dr Katz. Maybe my subconscious recognised the voice from the audio clip which is why I kept thinking about the character, or maybe Burbank and Benjamin really do have similar styles. I thought it was interesting anyway. And Dr Katz was produced by a company from Burbank, California. Spooky.