It makes me realize two things. 1. How great Jackie really was and how lame Artie is. Jackis is far superior to that fat hack. 2. How many "A-Listers" Howard used to have on and now... Bob Levy and Greg Fitzsimmons.
The biggest thing that I realized is that Howard turned into the Howard of today in 1989. Prior to then, it was too much clapping and a higher pitched Howard. Some of the discussions that he had in the latter part of the special (1989, Meg and Dante's inferno) seemed to be less forced/calculated, closer to what happened throughout the 90s to present.
After listening to the special i want to find the person that wrote that rebel rebel song and punch them in the face and not tell them why!!!LOL:rofl2:
Hearing old Jackie stuff, it does remind me of how great he was on the show. I don't know if I'd say that he is better than Artie or vice versa, but they both definitely bring different things to the show. The Joke Hunt is really a horrible show, but there is something about Jackie that makes it fun to listen. The A-lister thing is a fallacy. They have always been few and far between. And don't forget that some of the A-listers that have been on the HOHS episodes were not A-listers when they were on the show and stopped coming on when they got some fame (Jerry Seinfeld is a good example). The specials made me realize just how much the show has changed for the better over the years. I probably wouldn't be listening if they were still doing lame bits while clapping and yucking it up like a morning zoo.
I've said it before, but having Jackie in the studio not only made Howard funnier, but it also added a spice to the mix, a flavoring that is missing. I am in the minority on this board when it comes to the Jokeman(I loved him), but I loved hearing his laugh, not just at his own jokes, but when something funny was going on in the studio. One of the greatest moments of Beetlejuice's first appearance was in hearing Jackie busting a gut before Beet ever said a word on the show. Jackie honed in on the Beet from his arrival. Jokehunt is a bit of a waste, but it's like most of the other programming on H101, it's only an hour and it feels like it's over before it has a chance to get a good head of steam. About the only element that has changed for the better(clapping excluded)is that the crew are able to speak without being bleeped. I like that part of the show, but it really has more to do with where they're doing the show now as opposed to a more natural and organic change within the structure of the show. I would have loved to hear what the Jackie, Billy, John and younger Howard would have done with the "no restrictions" of satellite and keep the richardandsal's of the world to occasional phone callers to the show.
Similarly to what Steel Cranium pointed out, I mentioned to my wife yesterday that over the course of the 2 weeks, you really hear Howard find his "voice". It was interesting to hear the change, especially after re-listening to Part I over the previous weeks. Our biggest complaint has been too much Sam Kinison and Jessica Hahn. I realize he was a big part of the show for a while, and I really think he was a brilliant comedian (I paid to see him twice, even) but it's really been a bit too much focus on him in the past few days. Especially considering he didn't die until 1992, so we get more of him during Part III.
Hey Now I said it before and I will say it again, I would pay 13 dollars a month just to listen to Jackie's laugh. He cracks me up. :crazy::rofl::crazy:
