The Complete Guide to Everything

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The Complete Guide to Everything, sometimes abbreviated to TCGTE, is a free weekly podcast featuring Tom Reynolds and Tim Daniels of Brooklyn, New York City. It often runs about 60–90 minutes in length and is released every Sunday. The show has been described as "the next Wikipedia, in podcast form". Most episodes cover one overarching topic which typically serves as a jumping off point for off-topic conversations about cultural observations, this is then followed with one or more weekly segments.

History

24cast

24cast[1] began in January 2006 and lasted 23 episodes. It featured Tom and Tim who later went on to create The Complete Guide to Everything. The podcast was primarily about the Fox Television show 24 but frequently covered many other topics and issues on the hosts minds. Episodes were released in a somewhat sporadic manner. The show also gathered a reputation within the 24 podcast community, where it frequently billed itself as the "only explicit podcast about 24".[2]

It was also featured as one of the Top 100 Most Subscribed to Podcasts of 2006 by iTunes.

The Drudge Report Report Report

This follow-up podcast to 24cast was not well received by most podcast critics, but most "The Complete Guide to Everything" fans and former 24cast fans are lovers of this short-lived podcast. Since its inception, it has grown a large cult following. The premise of this four-episode series consists of hosts Tom, Tim, and Chris simply reading articles reprinted off Drudgereport.com[3] and making humorous comments about them. This idea was the basis for the current "The Complete Guide to Everything".

Pop Everything

In the Complete Guide to Everything episode "Electronic Dance Music" Tim and Tom announced they would be producing a new podcast coming out on Thursdays that would focus more on Popular Culture topics like movies, books, comics, and TV.[4] On October 17, 2013 the first episode of Pop Everything was released on iTunes and Soundcloud, the episodes are generally 45 to 60 minutes long and tend have more spoilers than an average podcast of The Complete Guide to Everything.

Publicity

UK

The podcast was featured prominently on the UK iTunes podcast directory in August 2009 and has remained in the Staff Favourites section ever since. This has led to an overwhelmingly British audience for this US-based show, which is frequently referred to and acknowledged in the show itself. The podcast has been consistently in the UK iTunes Top 100 podcasts for the past two years.

US

The podcast was featured on the homepage of the US iTunes podcast directory in March 2012 which may lead to a more transatlantic following in future months.[5]

General

In 2010, the podcast was a shortlisted nominee in the 'Entertainment' category at the Podcast Awards.

Show segments

Tim and Tom Solve Your Problems

Introduced in the episode 'Life on the Road' the hosts answer emails sent to thecompleteguidetoeverything@gmail.com asking for advice. The topics typically pertain to advice relating to social behavior or relationships. Of all of the show segments listed, 'Tim & Tom Solve Your Problems' (sometimes referred to as "TandTSYP") is the most regular and longest running.

Fifty Shades of Tim

Introduced in the episode Fears: Elevators. After many weeks of Tom attempting to get Tim to read the book Fifty Shades of Grey in order to do a Fifty Shades episode, Tom finally gives up and begins the arduous but hilarious process of summarising the book to Tim chapter by chapter over the course of many episodes. The segment was discontinued due to the excessively graphic nature of the novel.[6]

The Mundane Bucket List

Introduced in the episode 'Underwear', the Mundane Bucket List is a tongue-in-cheek take on the popular motion picture "The Bucket List". Each week, Tim and Tom take turns to propose something that they would really like to do before they die but (unlike the extreme activities featured in the movie) would be considered by most people to be mundane. Entries to the mundane bucket list are below.

Tom's Entries Tim's Entries
  • To bang on a car hood and declare "Hey, I'm walking here!"
  • Travel on a train and at least put his suitcase in the sleeper car
  • Eat a Kosher Meal on an airplane
  • Learn the Phonetic Alphabet
  • Give up his seat on a bus to someone who needs it, but without it being awkward

The Gauntlet

Introduced in the episode 'Colon Health and Final Destination' the hosts run through a range of topic suggestions gathered primarily via their Facebook Fan Page[7] but also occasionally via email, Twitter[8] and their forums.[9] The hosts read through suggestions for future topics, often giving a quick opinion about the topic suggested. It was implied that topics that passed The Gauntlet would go on to become future full length episodes, however the hosts have since announced this was never their true intention. The segment has now been discontinued.

You're Awful

Introduced in the episode 'Public Services (Or An Excuse To Talk About Poop)' the hosts drew on reports from listeners of instances where they had pointed out to a member of the public that the behaviour they had seen that person exhibit was unacceptable by saying "You're Awful"; as clarified in later episodes, the aim of the segment was to encourage listeners to point out to those people who should, and in fact do, know that the behaviour is unacceptable in a social setting but have developed (often without realising) a sense of being 'above the rules', with businessmen and old ladies being specific examples cited.

Over the course of several episodes the segment morphed into its current form where the hosts draw on articles that they have read in The New York Times for further examples of "awful" behaviour. The segment is also referred to as "A Particular Kind of Asshole You Didn't Know Existed Until The New York Times Pointed It Out To You". The segment recurs on an irregular basis.

Episodes

Episode list

No. Title Release date
294"Kanye West"February 13, 2015
293"Vaccines"February 7, 2015
292"Microsoft"January 31, 2015
291"Basketball"January 24, 2015
290"Joining a Gym"January 16, 2015
289"Cereal"January 10, 2015
288"Secret Menu Items"January 2, 2015
287"2014 Year in Review"December 27, 2014
286"Stephen King"December 19, 2014
285"Mars"December 15, 2014
284"Christmas Trees"December 8, 2014
283"Soda"November 29, 2014
282"Uber"November 23, 2014
281"Toys “R” Us"November 17, 2014
280"Florida"November 9, 2014
279"Taylor Swift"November 2, 2014
278"Halloween Parties"October 26, 2014
277"NY Comic Con"October 19, 2014
276"Arcades"October 12, 2014
275"NYC Subway Vs London Tube"October 5, 2014
274"Derek Jeter"September 28, 2014
273"Comic Book TV Shows (Fall 2014)"September 21, 2014
272"Apple Watch"September 14, 2014
271"NYC Trendy Food"September 7, 2014
270"Memes"August 31, 2014
269"Emergency Preparedness"August 24, 2014
268"Ice Cream"August 17, 2014
267"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"August 10, 2014
266"Personal Hygiene"August 3, 2014
265"Summer Concert Series"July 27, 2014
264"Fitness Trackers"July 20, 2014
263"Haunted Houses"July 13, 2014
262"Charles Manson"July 6, 2014
261"Horse Racing"June 29, 2014
260"World Cup 2014 Brazil"June 22, 2014
259"Going off the Grid"June 8, 2014
258"Soylent"June 1, 2014
257"Conspiracy Theories (Night 2 in Manchester 2013"May 25, 2014
256"Twitter"May 18, 2014
255"Summer Movie Preview 2014 – Part 2"May 11, 2014
254"Summer Movie Preview 2014"May 4, 2014
253"Mac and Cheese"April 27, 2014
252"Billy Joel"April 20, 2014
251"Novelty Items"April 13, 2014
250"Elementary School with Dan Deacon"April 6, 2014
249"Virtual Reality"March 30, 2014
248"Guitar Center"March 24, 2014
247"Nuclear Power"March 16, 2014
246"Hot Dogs"March 9, 2014
245"Bitcoins"March 2, 2014
244"The Oscars 2014"February 23, 2014
243"Cable TV"February 16, 2014
242"Traveling into the Future with Anna Kendrick"February 9, 2014
241"Superbowl Commercials"February 2, 2014
240"Raising Children"January 26, 2014
239"Fancy Suits"January 19, 2014
238"Nancy Kerrigan & Tonya Harding Scandal"January 13, 2014
237"Hangover Cures"January 6, 2014
236"2013 Year in Review"December 30, 2013
235"Christmas Shopping"December 23, 2013
234"Home Alone 2"December 16, 2013
233"Drones"December 9, 2013
232"Open Letters"December 2, 2013
231"Thanksgiving"November 25, 2013
230"Personal Finance"November 18, 2013
229"Coffee Shop Etiquette"November 11, 2013
228"Writing A Novel"November 4, 2013
227"Jury Duty"October 27, 2013
226"Home Invasion"October 21, 2013
225"Electronic Dance Music"October 13, 2013
224"Modern Art"October 7, 2013
223"Claire Danes"September 29, 2013
222"GTA V"September 23, 2013
221"Veterinarians"September 15, 2013
220"Fall TV Preview 2013"September 8, 2013
219"French Fry Burgers and Secret Ingredients"September 1, 2013
218"Magicians"August 26, 2013
217"Another Episode About Video Games"August 19, 2013
216"Trains"August 12, 2013
215"Tim and Tom Solve Even More of Your Problems"August 5, 2013
214"Batman Vs. Superman The Movie"July 28, 2013
213"Being Lazy"July 22, 2013
212"Amazing Facts!"July 15, 2013
211"The Beach"July 8, 2013
210"Board Games"July 1, 2013
209"Dog Fostering"June 23, 2013
208"Superman"June 16, 2013
207"Conspiracy Theories (Reptilians, JFK and Dinosaurs) - Live in Manchester on March 18, 2013"June 9, 2013
206"NYC Tourism (Part 1) (Recording of live YouTube broadcast 30 May 2013)"June 2, 2013
205"Binge Watching"May 26, 2013
204"The Complete Guide to Nothing In Particular: The Squeakquel"May 19, 2013
203"Biking"May 12, 2013
202"Fancy Restaurants"May 5, 2013
201"Summer Movies 2013"April 21, 2013
200"The Complete Guide to The Complete Guide to Everything"April 14, 2013
199"Wrestling"April 8, 2013
198"Easter"March 31, 2013
197"Urban Legends: Disney Theme Parks"March 24, 2013
196"Subway Etiquette"March 17, 2013
195"Supermarket Shopping"March 10, 2013
194"Martial Arts"March 3, 2013
193"Tim & Tom Solve Your Friend-Making, Friend-Ending and DVD Lending Problems"February 24, 2013
192"Meteors"February 17, 2013
191"McDonald's Part 2: The Return of the Arch Deluxe"February 10, 2013
190"McDonald’s"February 4, 2013
189"Super Bowl 2013"January 27, 2013
188"CES Wrapup 2013"January 20, 2013
187"The Flu"January 13, 2013
186"College Urban Legends"January 6, 2013
185"The Movies of 2012"December 30, 2012
184"2012 - The Year in Entertainment"December 23, 2012
183"Richard Marx"December 16, 2012
182"Christmas Specials Christmas Special (Part Two: More Christmas Specials)"December 9, 2012
181"Christmas Specials Christmas Special (Part One: Christmas Specials)"December 2, 2012
180"Moving (Part 2)"November 25, 2012
179"Moving (Part 1)"November 19, 2012
178"Star Wars"November 11, 2012
177"Hurricane Sandy Aftermath"November 5, 2012
176"Frankenstorm (YouTube Live Edition)"October 29, 2012
175"Extreme Stunts"October 21, 2012
174"The 2012 Presidential Election"October 14, 2012
173"Chicago"October 7, 2012
172"Concerts"September 30, 2012
171"The Future of Technology (iPhone 5, MakerBot and Google Glasses)"September 24, 2012
170"Dating Part 4 - Wooing"September 18, 2012
169"Richard Dawson and Glasses"September 9, 2012
168"Doctor Who"September 2, 2012
167"Celebrity Gossip Roundup"August 27, 2012
165"Fears: Elevators"August 20, 2012
164"Internships"August 12, 2012
163"Vampires"August 5, 2012
162"The 2012 Olympics"July 29, 2012
161"The New York Times' Williamsburg"July 22, 2012
160"The Dark Knight Rises"July 15, 2012
159"Los Angeles"July 8, 2012
158"Summer Music"July 1, 2012
157"Tim and Tom and Dave Solve Your Problems"June 24, 2012
156"Summer Movies 2012: Part 2"June 17, 2012
155"Summer Movies"June 10, 2012
154"Stunts"June 3, 2012
153"Tim's Birthday Celebration"May 28, 2012
152"The Great Googa Mooga"May 21, 2012
151"Creeps"May 13, 2012
150"Live in London: Time Travel"May 6, 2012
149"The Avengers"April 29, 2012
148"Ghosts"April 22, 2012
147"British Television"April 15, 2012
146"Friends"April 8, 2012
145"Mega Millions"April 1, 2012
144"The Hunger Games"March 25, 2012
143"SXSW"March 18, 2012
142"Tim and Tom Solve Your Problems"March 12, 2012
141"Beer"March 4, 2012
140"The Oscars 2012"February 26, 2012
139"Abe Lincoln"February 19, 2012
138"Valentine's Day"February 12, 2012
137"Stuffed Crust Pizza and Two Sad Men"February 5, 2012
136"Groundhog Day"January 29, 2012
135"Facebook"January 22, 2012
134"Underwear"January 15, 2012
133"Medicine"January 8, 2012
132"New Year's Resolutions"January 2, 2012
131"Kim Jong Il"December 25, 2011
130"Christmas Songs"December 18, 2011
129"Santa Claus"December 11, 2011
128"The SkyMall Holiday Gift Guide"December 4, 2011
127"The Muppets"November 27, 2011
126"Cranksgiving & Sleep No More"November 20, 2011
125"Zooey Deschanel"November 13, 2011
124"Marathons"November 6, 2011
123"Listener Mail"October 30, 2011
122"Halloween Spooktacular 2011"October 23, 2011
121"Zombies"October 16, 2011
120"Steve Jobs"October 11, 2011
119"Hamburgers"October 2, 2011
118"Ancient Aliens"September 25, 2011
117"Jeopardy"September 19, 2011
116"Back to School"September 11, 2011
115"Weddings"September 4, 2011
114"Hurricanes"August 28, 2011
113"The Kardashians"August 21, 2011
112"Last Minute Vacations"August 14, 2011
111"Museums"August 8, 2011
110"New York Yankees"July 31, 2011
109"Beating the Heat"July 24, 2011
108"Planking"July 17, 2011
107"Swimming Pools"July 11, 2011
106"Cults"July 3, 2011
105"Summertime Part 1"June 27, 2011
104"Canadian Travel"June 19, 2011
103"Father's Day"June 12, 2011
102"Zooey and the Berge"June 6, 2011
101"BBQs"May 29, 2011
100"The Rapture"May 22, 2011
99"International Travel"May 16, 2011
98"Bigfoot"May 8, 2011
97"The Royal Wedding"May 1, 2011
96"Breaking Up"April 25, 2011
95"Dating: The Art of Seduction"April 17, 2011
94"Loch Ness Monster"April 10, 2011
93"Candy"April 3, 2011
92"Kitchen Nightmares"March 27, 2011
91"HaircutCast Part 2"March 20, 2011
90"iPad 2"March 13, 2011
89"Daytime TV"March 7, 2011
88"1990s Rock"February 27, 2011
87"Gambling"February 20, 2011
86"News Roundup - February 2011"February 13, 2011
85"Valentine's Day"February 6, 2011
84"The Super Bowl"January 30, 2011
83"Game Shows (Present Day)"January 23, 2011
82"News Roundup - January 2011"January 16, 2011
81"Disney"January 9, 2011
80"2010 In Review and 2011 Predictions"January 2, 2011
79"Video Games: The Lost Version (8 minute episode via tcgte.com[10] and YouTube[11] only)"December 30, 2010
78"Video Games"December 26, 2010
77"Coffee"December 19, 2010
76"Holiday Movies"December 12, 2010
75"The Mall"December 5, 2010
74"Airport Security"November 28, 2010
73"Harry Potter"November 21, 2010
72"Dating (Part 2)"November 14, 2010
71"Dating (Part 1)"November 7, 2010
70"Video Stores"October 31, 2010
69"Breakfast"October 24, 2010
68"Public Services (Or An Excuse to Talk About Poop)"October 17, 2010
67"Department of Motor Vehicles"October 11, 2010
66"The Internet"October 3, 2010
65"Celebrity"September 26, 2010
64"Shopping"September 19, 2010
63"IKEA"September 12, 2010
62"Sleuthing"September 6, 2010
61"Facial Hair"August 29, 2010
60"Juggalo Culture"August 22, 2010
59"Healthy Eating"August 15, 2010
58"Disney World"August 8, 2010
57"Air Travel"August 1, 2010
56"The UK with Dave Hill"July 25, 2010
55"UFOs and Aliens"July 18, 2010
54"Being a Man"July 11, 2010
53"An Unfortunate Encounter and More Michael Jackson"July 4, 2010
52"Summer"June 27, 2010
51"World Cup"June 20, 2010
50"Winning the Lottery"June 13, 2010
49"News Roundup"June 6, 2010
48"Marketing to Kids and Ripping Out Hearts"May 30, 2010
47"Lost - The End (TCGTE.com Exclusive)"May 24, 2010
46"Camping"May 23, 2010
45"The Hobo Code"May 16, 2010
44"Tom Hanks Is My Bartender"May 9, 2010
43"Facebook, Death and Fast Food"May 2, 2010
42"Girl Problems"April 25, 2010
41"Bars"April 18, 2010
40"Nothing in Particular"April 11, 2010
39"Teen Idols (Biebermania Edition)"April 4, 2010
38"Chat Roulette"March 28, 2010
37"St. Patrick’s Day (HaircutCast Edition)"March 21, 2010
36"Tom’s Big Week or “The Monday Morning Grindcast”"March 14, 2010
35"The Bachelor"March 7, 2010
34"Cruises"February 28, 2010
33"Mass Transit (First Outside Broadcast Episode)"February 21, 2010
32"Winter Olympics (Super Late Update)"February 18, 2010
31"The Grammy Awards"February 7, 2010
30"Lost"January 31, 2010
29"Diets"January 24, 2010
28"Fast Food"January 17, 2010
27"Being Sick"January 10, 2010
26"2010 or Twenty-Ben: The year of the Milkternet"January 3, 2010
25"Christmas or How cute are these boots?"December 20, 2009
24"1990s Sitcoms: TGIF Edition"December 13, 2009
23"Hodge Podge"December 6, 2009
22"The Best of Everything"November 22, 2009
21"Arnold Schwarzenegger"November 15, 2009
20"College: Sophomore Year"November 7, 2009
19"Baseball"November 1, 2009
18"Halloween"October 25, 2009
17"Hip Hop"October 18, 2009
16"Bathroom Etiquette"October 11, 2009
15"Colon Health and Final Destination"October 4, 2009
14"Drunk Presidents and Nicolas Cage"September 27, 2009
13"Twilight"September 20, 2009
12"Fall TV"September 14, 2009
11"The Beatles"September 7, 2009
10"Superheroes or: Why Isn’t There a Real Batman?"September 2, 2009
9"New York City and Yuppies vs. Ice Cream"August 24, 2009
8"College - Freshman Year and Wearing T-Shirts As Underwear"August 17, 2009
7"North Korea and Winning Porn Bingo"August 9, 2009
6"Letters to Famous Prisoners"August 2, 2009
5"Listener Suggestions"July 27, 2009
4"Weird Al"July 23, 2009
3"Police Academy and Bums vs. Hobos (Removed from iTunes due to poor audio quality)"July 16, 2009
2"Time Travel"July 9, 2009
1"Michael Jackson"July 2, 2009

Pre-audio, video podcasts (unavailable):

Episode
  • Hamburgers
  • Magic
  • Amusement Parks

Many of the earlier episodes are no longer available for downloading from iTunes.

Live shows

The first ever live versions of the show (hosted by regular hosts Tom Reynolds and Tim Daniels) took place in London, England on 7 & 8 May 2011 and were held at the Hen and Chickens Theatre[12] and Kings Place[13] respectively. Tickets for the event sold out within 4 hours of release. A short 5-minute video of the first live show[14] was released in lieu of the full recording of the show, which was lost during 'the London Incident' (see below).

Venue Date
  • Hen & Chickens Theatre, London
  • Kings Place, London
  • PIT, New York
  • PIT, New York
  • Kings Arms, Salford, Manchester
  • Kings Place, London
  • May 7, 2011
  • May 8, 2011
  • August 4, 2011
  • December 30, 2011
  • April 10, 2012
  • April 11 & 12, 2012

Additionally, the show has done one live after-show following the 1990s Sitcoms: TGIF (ABC) edition that appeared on UStream.tv.[15] The aftershow took place at a bar via the (at the time) newly released UStream.tv iPhone application.

After Dark Episode List

For a short period of time The Complete Guide to Everything had a premium subscription service, in which listeners would pay a small monthly fee to get an extra podcast throughout the month. The After Dark episodes consisted of interesting people that Tim and Tom knew, the conversations more focused on the person being interviewed similar to The Nerdist Podcast. After some time and changes made, Tim and Tom decided to discontinue to the premium subscription but all the episodes are still available to purchase at TCGTE online store. Occasionally in the Complete Guide to Everything Online Store there will be a USB with all the After Dark episodes and other bonus episodes.[16]

Episode Featuring
  • #9 Scamcast with Paul McKenna
  • #8 Roundtable with Erin Leigh
  • #7 Vegetarianism with Brendan Jordan
  • #6 Casinos with Christine
  • #5 Andrew Gregory v. Forrest Gump
  • #4 Jeff's Guide to Being Punk Rock
  • #3 Amy and the Unfortunately Wine Stains
  • #2 Nick and the Great Switcharoo
  • #1 Algernon, or Where Did All Those Birds Come From

Other episodes available by purchasing the TCGTE USB:

Episode
  • The Complete Guide to USB (26 minutes long)
  • Game Shows (Live in NYC, 11-16-2012)
  • Superheroes (Live in London, 4-11-2012)

Pop Everything Episode List

Episode Release Date
  • #7 Calvin and Hobbes Is NOT the Wire
  • #6 New Sudser Skein Does Boffo At B.O. Down Infopike
  • #5 Hey Old Idiot, It's Not For You
  • #4 Thank God It's Thorsday
  • #3 Weird, Obscure Batmen
  • #2 The Catcher In The Pies
  • #1 We Are Legally Obligated To Talk About Breaking Bad
  • November 28, 2013
  • November 21, 2013
  • November 14, 2013
  • November 7, 2013
  • October 31, 2013
  • October 24, 2013
  • October 17, 2013

London incident

In the "International Travel" episode (17 May 2011) Tim and Tom discussed the theft of Tim's property, a bag containing (but not limited to) an iPad, MacBook and speakers, causing Tim distress and affecting his night's sleep. While some speculation was made during the "International Travel" episode about the possible culprit, a lack of evidence has hindered any serious progress to identify and prosecute the offender. Tim's travel insurance status is at present unknown so measuring the lasting financial damage is difficult to calculate although Tim and Tom estimated the cost to be around $2000. However Tim made it clear that he was emotionally damaged by the incident and his view of London had been tarnished.

Episode artwork

On an ad-hoc basis some "official artwork" based on the content of an episode is produced by Natalie Al-Tahhan (flailingwithink.com) and this is displayed on tcgte.com along with the show notes. The artwork consists of brief cartoons depicting what the artist considers to be the most humorous aspects of the subject episode.

iPhone application

A free official iPhone application giving access to every episode, the TCGTE blog, the host's blogs, the host's Twitter accounts and a messaging facility is available on the Apple App Store.[17] On 24 June 2010 the app was downloaded 6,000 times following a feature by Apple[18] and was named as the 'Staff Pick' in the Entertainment Category in Volume 6 of the iPhone App Directory magazine.[19]

TCGTE conventions

The first gathering of TCGTE fans took place at Porterhouse Brewery in Covent Garden, London in October 2010 and host Tom attended. The official TCGTE website refers to the gathering as "the first international meet up" of TCGTE fans.[20]

References

External links