the show with zefrank
From zefrank
the show with zefrank is produced each weekday by Ze Frank.
For a less fun, more formal exploration of this topic, try the show wikipedia entry.
Contents |
Recurring themes
Are the New Viewers Gone Yet?
Some shows begin by introducing the real Ze, supposedly in order to scare off new viewers. Ze presents seemingly boring information or a slow skit followed by the question "Are the new viewers gone yet?". After this point, the host's show personality takes over.
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?)
- Summer Jamz
- Fabuloso Friday
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 many of these recurring themes no longer recur after having been posted on this page.
Terminology
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.
One 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.
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.
Hard Charger
Hard Chargers are enemies of Sports Racers. Although the term originated with political overtones, its true meaning continues to emerge:
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]
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.
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."
Note that Ze is not saying the President is a hard charger; he is simply introducing the concept. A subtle difference.
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, possibly 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. (ie., Bill O'Reilly often refers to "Talking points" in the segment of the same title on his show, The O'Reilly Factor. "Talking points disagrees," for example).
The League of Awesomeness
Ze is an enthusiastic evangelist of the mysterious The 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 might be partly responsible, even though he is dead.
See also: List of members of The League of Awesomeness
Power Moves
Sports racers are encouraged to develop and 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.
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.
See also: List of Power Moves
Power Move Tips
On April 25, 2006 Ze showed a rather garish power move submitted by Ian. The response was negative. He sympathized, however, and then showed his own first embarrassing attempt at a power move.
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."
Other power moves that have been positively received were accompanied by the comment "you can do that power move anywhere!" This appears to be an important criteria for aspiring sports racers to consider when creating their own power move.
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 so 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 the April 25, 2006 episode, Ze said he had to go "poop" (defecate). Then he repeated the word with a high-pitched voice, as though it were just a fun sound effect: "poop!"
A memorable instance happens at the end of the April 28, 2006 episode where Ze gets into a "pooping" contest with Amanda Congdon of Rocketboom.
Duckies
Ze likes duckies. He has said so on many occasions.
Our Dear and Glorious Leader
On 03/28/06, Ze spoke of Our Dear and Glorious Leader which referred to Google (then the sole supplier of advertising on the site).
About Ze
See Ze Frank or read his wikipedia entry.
