the show with zefrank
From zefrank
Before we Begin This page really ought to work in conjunction with the the_show:_Episode_Guide but I don't really know how. A little help? [LoA] bodog_formerly_byslexic 21:16, 18 June 2006 (PDT)
the show with zefrank is produced each weekday by Ze Frank. The site, zefrank.com, weaves commentary on media and current events with viewer contributions and interactive activites.
Contents |
Recurring themes
Are the New Viewers Gone Yet?
After a sudden upsurge in hits to Ze's site, he took two radical (and site-altering) initiatives -- the first, presumably because band width was getting too congested, he took down the archives of the show (a real bummer, and hard charger move, because that gave us all the feeling that we were in the League of Awesomeness together! and because it gave us something to laugh at while we waited for today's show to go up); the second, perhaps premeditated, move was to inaugurate the segment 'are the new viewers gone yet?' This off-the-wall, often bizarre, info-mercial style introduction was (and still is) meant to scare off people who have been given this link, but who aren't really 'in the know' about Ze -- this, however, is very difficult due to the fact that, as stated above, at least half of the shows from the archives are gone...
Examples:
S-s-s-somethin' From the Comments
Ze often reads one or more comments from viewers of the previous show, a segment he calls "S-s-s-somethin' from the comments".
Songs
He frequently composes and performs songs, complete with instrumental accompaniment, to emphasize a point or concept. Examples are:
- You Can't Throw...
- Someday You and I Are Gonna Die
- Anti-intellectualism
- Makes Me Want to Throw Up
- Giant Baby
- How do you Work This Thing?
- Hindsight is 20/20
- If the Earth Were a Sandwich
- Who's That Baby Trading Walnuts for Gold?
Something I Like That's Gay!
Occasionally Ze points out something he likes that's "gay"; that is, something that (in the U.S.) is not commonly considered "likeable" by typical adult heterosexual males. He announces these with a brief jingle, as above. Examples:
Photos
Ze sometimes illustrates news stories with seemingly-unrelated photographs as he narrates, leaving viewers to determine the actual connection to the topic. He also affectionately includes references to duckies and "the little duckies in the pond" whenever he finds the opportunity.
Blinking
Frequent viewers may notice that Ze prefers very close proximity with the camera. In early shows (March-April 2006) he blinked as ordinary people do. But by May 10, 2006, noting that his left nostril tends to flare every time he blinks, he ceased blinking on the show, except on special occasions.
Signoff
Ze's usual signoff is "This is Ze Frank, thinking so you don't have to."
You may notice that all of these recurring themes no longer recur after having been posted on this page.
Terminology
Hard Charger
Hard Chargers are enemies of sports racers. The President is one, as is Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. This term originally appeared in the April 13th 2006 episode of The Show, and refers to the following exchange between a reporter and Scott McClellan, the White House Press Secretary:
- Q. The President said earlier -- just in talking about the rest of his presidency, that he intends to charge hard in his final two-and-a-half years --
- MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely. He's a hard charger. [1]
Ze responds with alarm and suspicion: "I didn't know the President was a hard charger. Hard chargers aren't even in the League of Awesomeness. They have no love for sports racers."
McClellan's comment may have been inspired by the January 12 2005 article in the New York Times titled Hard Charger on Terror War's Legal Front -- Michael Chertoff.
However, not unsurprisingly, the term "Hard Charger" also has an auto racing reference: the 1969 film Tiny Lund: Hard Charger, a biography of independent stockcar racer Tiny Lund. In this case, probably unknown to Ze, a sports racer is a hard charger!
Knowledge
Ze often refers to his presentation of the news (or just life as he knows it) as "knowledge", which some hard chargers presume to be a parody of the media's tendency to overhype its own value (perhaps similar to how Bill O'Reilly often refers to "Talking points" in the segment of the same title on his show, The O'Reilley Factor. "Talking points disagrees," for example).
The League of Awesomeness
Ze is an enthusiastic (if also somewhat sarcastic) evangelist of the mysterious League of Awesomeness, a group that strives to minimize the influence of hard chargers. The L.o.A. is presumed to be comprised of Sports Racers, although this may not be the case, as little is known about the L.o.A. Apart from promoting awesomeness, their true motives and modus operandi remain cryptic.
In the Earth Sandwich Challenge show, an envelope from the League appears magically in Ze's hands. Ze also claims the L.o.A. caused him to remove the 6/16/06 the show because it was deemed "inappropriate" and "embarrassing", but no one knows exactly how this was determined, as no sports racer is known to have been a part of the deciding committee. Who exactly is the decider? It's unclear. One known member of the League of Awesomeness Hall of Fame is American painter and television host Bob Ross, who may be partly responsible.
Members of the League of Awesomeness Hall of Fame:
- Bob Ross (the show, May 10, 2006)
Sports Racer
["What does "sports racer" actually mean? Can someone explain it for foreign viewers?"]Welcome, New Foreign Viewer! What's a sports racer? [Note: Ze DOES put a space between the words!] Why Ze chose the term to refer to his viewers is, in all honesty, a mystery. My hunch is that the words simply have a dada-ist ambiguity... As if one could actually "race sports" against one another. Which is faster, tennis or volleyball? Hockey or basketball? No, it makes no sense. That's why it's entertaining. However, outside of Ze's The Show, the term is commonly used to refer to Auto Racing enthusiasts and participants in the Sports Car Club of America. They race sports cars with one another, it seems. --[LoA] bodog_formerly_byslexic
- On 6/14/06, Ze is seen wearing a Dupont Motorsports cap. Red herring, or true colors? Only Ze knows. [LoA] bodog_formerly_byslexic 20:46, 14 June 2006 (PDT)
- The Sports Racer Theme Song lyrics are "Sports Racers, Racin' Sports. What is your Power Move?". Ze encourages visitors to submit logos and T-shirt designs to represent the Sports Racers. All submissions, once posted, become official logos, sanctified by the League of Awesomness (without objections, of course. If there are objections, the logo is immediately held without cause, beaten severely, and forced to comply with unreasonable demands in order to win "privileges").
Power Moves
Visitors are also encouraged to submit Power Moves, the best of which Ze will occasionally showcase during the show. Ze's own Power Move, Thunderclaw, is a simple but graceful maneuver that he demonstrated in his April 6, 2006 episode On April 25, 2005, Ze showed a rather garish power move submitted by Ian. Ze says "...Being a sports racer is more than just looking cool and impressing your friends; it's about being as awesome as you can be." He sympathized, however, and showed his own first embarrassing attempt at a power move. Ze continues to showcase power moves submitted by viewers, betraying an underlying feeling of compassion for those brave enough to subject themselves to international ridicule.
Comment King of the Hill
The week of May 22, 2006, Ze introduced Comment King of the Hill. In this game, users rated other user's comments; the winning comments were rewarded with a crowned ducky. The game was notable in that the rules changed each day. During the week variations allowed participants to vote an unlimited number of times, color code posts, and send posts to the "magic dumpster" where other users could undump them, if compelled.
Earth Sandwich
On the May 16, 2006 episode of the show , Ze issued a challenge to his viewers to create an Earth Sandwich. The goal is to place two pieces of bread on the ground simultaneously at points directly opposite each other on the globe. Thus, if a piece of bread were placed on the ground in a specific location, while at the same time another piece of bread is placed on the ground at the exact opposite coordinates, a giant Earth Sandwich would be formed. Ze provided a Google Maps tool for finding exact geographical opposites.
Creating an Earth Sandwich proved difficult because a relatively small percentage of the Earth's surface has solid ground on opposite sides.
The "If the Earth Were a Sandwich" project page chronicles the pursuits of the hundreds of people participating in the project. On the June 12, 2006 show, Ze announces that (at least as far as he is concerned) two brothers have succeeded.
Poop
In (URL??? date??? episode), Ze said he likes to go "poop" (defecate). He then repeated the word with a high-pitched voice, as though it were just a fun sound effect.
A memorable instance happens at the end of the April 28, 2006 episode where Ze gets into a "pooping" contest with Amanda Congdon of Rocket Boom.
Duckies
Ze likes duckies. He has said so on many occasions. Image:duckies.jpg
Our Dear and Glorious Leader
Ze spoke of Our Dear and Glorious Leader, which can be found here.
About Ze
The factoids listed here were moved to: zefrank:About
