Nobody Likes Onions

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Nobody Likes Onions
Host(s) Patrick Melton
Website http://www.nobodylikesonions.com
Update Schedule Active
Launch Date June 2, 2005
Genre Comedy, Talk

Nobody Likes Onions, or NLO, is an internet radio comedy talk show and podcast produced by stand-up comedian Patrick Melton, known also by the name "The Soc". NLO began in June of 2005 and originates from Tampa, Florida. Many of the personalities on the show are regulars on the Tampa comedy circuit.

Beginning in February of 2006, NLO began broadcasting live shows online at various dates and times. Episodes of the podcast, which include both recordings of live shows as well as pre-recorded podcast-specific shows, are released approximately three times a week. The show is consistently ranked as one of the highest rated shows on Podcast Alley. NLO has also been broadcast via Sirius Satellite Radio.

Contents

[edit] Name of the program

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. Although the site never developed as planned, Melton decided to make use of the underutilized domain name, applying it to what is now the show. He admitted in Episode 86 that he wished he could change it.

[edit] Co-host

From the show's inception until late November 2006, the program's co-host was "Hollywood" Adam, a high school friend of Melton. Adam is himself not a comedian. He was largely quiet while Melton did a great majority of the talking. After more than 130 episodes, citing family concerns and the long drive to the studio, he quit the show. James Choma, on the Zipperfish podcast, hinted on his show that Adam's departure was precipitated in part by the addition of other stand-up comics as regulars, but that the whole truth would remain private for the time being.

After Adam quit, Patrick replaced him with a new co-host known only as Dagre, who is also not a comedian. Dagre was initially presented as the first black man on Nobody Likes Onions, which was noteworthy because of the show's occasional racial humor. Nevertheless, as Dagre has a very white-sounding voice, a lot of fans did not believe that he was black. During a tirade against Dagre on episode 168, Partick revealed that Dagre is, in fact, white. His appearance has in any event been kept a secret, but has been revealed to certain premium-paying fans as part of a secret project known by the cryptic acronym "KANOVU," but he is scheduled to be revealed on the occasion of the shows 200th episode. Dagre's beer consumption is a recurring topic in the show. As of March 2007, Dagre has not been anointed as a permanent co-host.

Along with the two hosts there are some recurring guests:

  • Brian - A high school friend of Patrick and Hollywood Adam. Brian started on the show with a segment called "Brian's Emotionless Movie Reviews." In this segment Brian would make up a movie review of a movie he didn't see over the phone. Since then he has become a guest in studio from time to time.
  • Tony Gaud - Gaud is a Florida based comic who first appear on episodes 2 and 3 subbing in for Hollywood Adam when he had a business trip. Due to his popularity among fans he has returned to the show as a regular guest.
  • Johnny B. Another Florida comic and poker player who started appearing on the show regularly after episode 144.
  • Cowhead - A Tampa Radio DJ who has appeared on three episodes so far.

[edit] Live Shows

Prior to March of 2006, NLO was distributed solely as a podcast. During live episodes, the show takes calls from fans who voice their opinions on segments, although the show hosts are often 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.

There are also a number of running jokes that might not be easily understood if one is not familiar with Melton's personality, such as his fanciful descriptions of his involvement in a "major motion picture film project," and his ideas for retail products. He also makes copious use of sound clips programmed into a soundboard, many taken from movies and television, and a great deal more from segments within the show, or shows featured as "Bad Podcast of the Week"

[edit] Bad Podcast of the Week

Possibly NLO's most talked-about feature is the Bad Podcast of the Week, in which Melton chooses a podcast and delivers 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 have stirred up a great deal of discussion and provoked strong reactions.

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.

In December of 2005, NLO featured the podcast "Porcuponics" in its BPOW 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.

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'.

[edit] "Towery"

NLO was the source for audio used in a fan-generated flash animation concerning commercialization of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The dialog, mostly about a tower-shaped doll named "Towery," was pulled from an extemporaneous conversation from Episode 111. The film was released to the web at the same time NLO had secured a sponsor, a domain-registration site. However, after seeing the show, the sponsor canceled the deal.

[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. Fans, mostly young ones, have pulled pranks on podcasting and online poker rivals of Patrick. 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] External links

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