The Distorted View Show
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The Distorted View Show (also known as Distorted View, Distorted View Daily, Distorted View Daily with Tim Henson, or DV) is an adult-oriented comedy podcast hosted by Tim Henson and broadcast most weekdays.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Distorted View Show is a podcast in which self-proclaimed "media darling" Tim Henson reads bizarre news stories from a comedic standpoint through verbal slapstick and parody. This show deals frequently with adult themes such as sex, abuse, racism, domestic violence, unusual accidents, toilet humor, and drug use, which are parodied by Henson through comedic skits, reenactments, and off-the-cuff commentary.
Henson refers to Distorted View fans as his "freaks" or "freaky-deakies." Fans are also sometimes collectively known as the "Freakalitia," or the "Freak Army."
The Distorted View Show is typically broadcast once a day, Monday through Friday, with rare shows on weekends. The show also features “Best of Distorted View” episodes, when Henson broadcasts an older episode instead of a new one.
In late 2006, Henson announced that he would quit his job and podcast full time.
[edit] Features
In addition to bizarre news, The Distorted View Show features other comedic skits:
[edit] Fictional Sponsors
Fictional sponsor skits begin with the tagline, "Today's Distorted View podcast is brought to you by..." They are parodies of radio or television show sponsorship that feature fictional companies such as The Levenge Group, Caucasian Pride Foods, and Felken Abortion Clinique and Deli, or fictional products such as Cougar Piss cologne, Grandma Felcher's Old-Fashioned Glass Eyes, Grandma Jiggaboo's Old Negro Style Waffles, and Old Musty's Tuna Cream Soda.
[edit] Great Moments
The Great Moments skits begin with the tagline, "Distorted View Daily proudly presents: Great Moments in..." The Great Moments are audio clips from funny technical support calls, old sexual education videos, the adult home shopping network, and pornographic movies.
[edit] Insensitive Reenactments
Insensitive Reenactments are introduced by Henson, rather than by a pre-recorded sound clip or theme. This is a bit in which Henson reenacts events from news stories using parody and exaggeration.
[edit] Access Entertainment Hollywood Extra Insider News Tonight
This celebrity news bit is typically introduced by a brief sound clip (such as a clip from Fred Durst's sex tape), followed by a comment from Henson, then followed by the pre-recorded skit introduction, which mimics the style of entertainment news programs such as Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, and The Insider. The title of the bit tends to change from episode to episode.
[edit] Bizarre Sex Terms
Henson invites listeners to send emails or leave voicemails describing terms for unusual sex acts that they have heard, read, or created themselves, which he then reads during the show. These are typically urban sexual legends. There is also a special forum for bizarre sex terms on the Distorted View Web site message board.
[edit] Distorted View's Mother/Father/Dumbass of the Week
This fictional award is given to particularly cruel or ignorant people featured in the news stories Henson reads during the show.
[edit] Sextastic Tuesday
A weekly bit in which Henson or a guest (usually another podcaster) reads an erotic story that typically includes bizarre sexual content such as bestiality, incest, enemas, and Coprophilia.
[edit] Skanks
A "skank" is a prank call conducted by Henson using the peer-to-peer Internet telephony program Skype. "Skank" is a portmanteau of the words "prank" and "Skype." During skanks, Henson pretends to be a 14-year-old girl named Katie, who takes incoming calls from older men and lures them into talking about sexual topics. Skanks typically end with Henson revealing his identity as a male, shouting at the caller, or incorporating an inside joke from past episodes of the show.
[edit] Listener Input
The Distorted View Show features many opportunities for listener input. Every day listeners can call, e-mail or snail mail the show to express opinions or send in material that can be featured on the show. In the past, Henson has had a contest each episode in which listeners invent clever titles for the previous episode. Listeners can also donate money to the show via PayPal.
[edit] Distorted View Sideshow
Opened in November 2006, Distorted View Sideshow is a members-only extension of the Distorted View podcast and web site. Features include full access to the Distorted View archive (450+ shows), pre-recorded extensions of the regular podcast, live "aftershows," and a personalized RSS feed for each member. Membership is $5 (USD) per month or $50 per year. The Distorted View Show itself remains free.
The service was recently renamed from "Super Freak Sideshow" for legal reasons.
[edit] History
The Distorted View Show began in 2000 as a segment of telephony company Tellme, under the name Distorted View Daily. The show was broadcast over telephone to listeners. As its popularity increased, the show was soon featured on several Internet radio broadcasts and on FM radio.
The show moved to the Mp3NewsBreak company in 2002, but the company ultimately collapsed. In 2003, Distorted View partnered briefly with Sirius Satellite Radio, but again encountered problems with budget and broadcasting. Finally, on December 6, 2004, The Distorted View Show began as a podcast and has continued into 2007, resulting in over 450 episodes of the show.
[edit] The Jason Show Rivalry
In 2001, the host of Tellme show The Jason Show attempted to initiate a rivalry with Distorted View. In mid-2006, Jason left a series of harassing voicemail messages for Henson, advertising his podcast. Henson repeatedly stated he was not interested in any rivalry attempt.
In early July 2006, The Jason Show surpassed Distorted View in ratings at Podcast Alley; due to automatically-added messages to prevent abuse, it became obvious that Web service WebWarper had been used to artificially inflate the number of votes. Users reported The Jason Show, and Podcast Alley removed the artificial votes and corrected the podcast rankings.
[edit] Website
The Distorted View Web site includes older shows, short films, and a very active forum.
[edit] Awards
- In 2005 and 2006, The Distorted View Show won the The Podcast Awards's Best Comedy Podcast Award.
- In November 2005, the show was nominated for Best Podcast at The Weblog Awards 2005.
- Distorted View typically ranks in the top ten user-nominated podcasts each month at Podcast Alley.
[edit] Also See
[edit] External links
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