Nobody Likes Onions
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Nobody Likes Onions, or NLO, is an internet radio comedy show and podcast by Patrick Melton and formerly Adam Weeks. NLO began in June of 2005 and is produced in Tampa, Florida. Beginning in February of 2006, NLO began broadcasting live shows online at various dates and times. The podcast appeared twice weekly, usually on Monday and Thursday, until 10/11/06 when the podcast started being released three times a week, usually on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and is consistently ranked as one of the highest rated shows on Podcast Alley. NLO has also been broadcast via Sirius Satellite Radio.
The name "Nobody Likes Onions" came from the name used by Melton and fellow comedian Landon Lyon for a satirical website. The name was a combination of "Nobody Likes Me," Melton's forum site for comedians, (Which was originally set up as a dating site) and an allusion to The Onion. At some point, Melton thought the site might have a negative effect on the friendship of the two, and the site was shut down. Melton decided to make use of the unutilized domain name, applying it to what is now the show. He admitted in Episode 86 that he wished he could change it.
In April of 2006, Melton built a new studio and announced plans to expand the show, eventually to five times weekly, however with the departure of Adam, the show may be much different.
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[edit] Adam quits
In late November 2006, Adam made the decision to quit the show. He felt he should spend more time with his son and wife, and was finished with his Master's degree (he was no longer required to travel over an hour to the studio in Melton's home). He will still be active in the Nobody Likes Onions community and promises to pop-by once in a while as a show guest. His decision was posted on the Nobody Likes Onions forums, and Patrick later announced it in episode 137 entitled, "Goodbye to Hollywood".
[edit] Live Shows
Prior to March of 2006, NLO was distributed solely as a podcast. Since then, there was a live episode recorded every Tuesday, until recently when the live recording date was switched to Monday. During live episodes fans are welcome to call in and voice their opinions on segments, although the show hosts are genererally dismissive of views that do not support their own.
[edit] Recurring Segments
The show has several recurring features which "recur" at widely varying intervals. The original and most popular recurring segment is the "Secret Segment" (originally the "Surprise Segment,") which is always prefaced by Patrick saying, "Hey Adam..." The 'Secret Segments' can be anything from "Adam, Eat This" to a quiz, or a karaoke challenge.
Some of the other features on the show are "Ask a Married Guy," where Weeks answers questions about married life from single fans, "From the P.O. Box" in which they sift through items mailed to their post office box, "Chewy Reviews TV," audio of Melton's dog Chewy watching TV and giving an audible opinion, usually an unfavorable one, and "Adam's of the Week." The structure varies widely from show to show, and new, supposedly "recurring" features are often added, only never to be heard again.
[edit] Bad Podcast of the Week
Possibly NLO's most talked-about feature is the Bad Podcast of the Week, in which Melton and Weeks choose a podcast and deliver strongly-worded, over-the-top criticism. Reaction from BPOW "victims" has been mixed, ranging from indifference to indignation, but all of the shows enjoyed higher traffic as a result. Some of the BPOW's that received a great deal of attention are listed below.
[edit] Mary & Karla Show
One of the early bad podcasts in September of 2005 was a vidcast of The Mary and Karla Show, whose hosts Melton mocked as "two manatees" and "fat cows." Mary and Karla retaliated a couple weeks later by reviewing the review.
[edit] Porcuponics
In December of 2005, NLO featured the podcast Porcuponics in its 'Bad Podcast of the Week' segment. During the course of the segment, Patrick directed some obscene comments toward a very young child. In the ensuing uproar, Patrick announced he was quitting the show. During his brief hiatus, Nick Starr and "Hollywood" Adam put out three episodes that were shorter than most, and were regarded by most fans as not up to the show's usual quality level, before Patrick returned to the program on Christmas day, and retracted the statements as having gone too far.
Melton also issued a letter of apology to the producers of Porcuponics, [1] but declined to edit or remove the show in question, saying that doing so would be lacking in integrity. As the show had been downloaded over 15,000 times by that point, it is doubtful that such actions would have had any effect if they had been taken.
[edit] Cruisin' With Susan
Another podcast featured on the Bad Podcast of the Week segment created a wider uproar, when Patrick satirized Cruisin' With Susan on NLO. Susan Miller, a truck driver and the producer of Cruisin' with Susan, responded with a cease and desist order and threats of legal action, as well as comments on her own show and the introduction of a "good podcast of the week" segment on her show. Patrick declared that satirizing Miller's podcast would become a recurring feature, with NLO showcasing Miller's latest podcast in a segment titled 'Snoozin' With Susan'.
On September 30, 2006 Susan Miller posted what was listed as her final podcast. During this last, abbreviated podcast, she announced that she had won the lottery and would no longer be driving truck. She also broke the news that this would be her last podcast, played two songs, and was gone.
[edit] Pottercast
One more podcast featured on Bad Podcast of the Week was Pottercast, the podcast dedicated to Harry Potter. Melton criticized the show for using certain terms like "Allegedly" and "Punbelievable," terms both coined on NLO. The term "Burn" was also used various times on NLO.
[edit] The Fans
Nobody Likes Onions has listeners all over the world. The NLO fans are known for responding quickly to Patrick's comments and requests on the show. The term NLO Army was coined by forum users in November of 2005 and has been largely adopted as the moniker of Nobody Likes Onions fans.
A premium section for NLO fans, Super Alpha Bonus Club, was launched in March of 2006. It is referred to on the show as the SABC (pronounced 'sab-see'). The Super Alpha Bonus Club area also features Fan-made Content such as the Conclusion of Flight 93, a Fan Comic and an "Onions for Tony" which features erotic pictures of Female Fans.
[edit] Episode 66
An episode taped on 7 March 2006 and streamed live was unavailable in the archive until much later. It was taped when Melton was ill, and Nick arrived late and unannounced. Melton was so disappointed with the show that it was not sent out on the podcast feed.
In a promotion announced on 6 June 2006 (06/06/06), NLO announced a fund-raising drive to enable Melton and Weeks to attend the Podcast Expo in Ontario, CA. If $666 apiece is pledged for Melton and Weeks, announced that he would release Episode 66. In addition, Melton mentioned the fundraiser was "'60s themed".
The episode was released on 17 September 2006. There are warnings in the episode's shownotes that the episode was not up to the show's usual quality, and was probably only of interest to fans.
[edit] PLA Radio Prank
In an 30 April 2006 episode of the PLA Radio podcast, the host played a prank on several other prominent podcasts, including Nobody Likes Onions. The host of PLA Radio used a Soundboard with clips of Patrick's voice from the Nobody Likes Onions show to make prank phone calls to various acquaintances of Melton's. The calls featured Patrick's voice, spouting off and yelling.
[edit] External links
- The Official NLO Website - includes forums and show archive, as well as announcements about upcoming live shows.
- NLO Wiki - The official NLO Wiki
- NLO's Podcast Alley Page
- NLO's campaign to be listed in iTunes
