The Visser of Ozcast

Visser of Ozcast is back for its 16th installment and boy do we bring the heat!

With the fire of a thousand suns, we scorch the earth with incendiary topics such as:

(0 - 17) NBA Playoffs! We discuss what’s worth paying close attention to over the final days of the regular season, what potential first round match-ups intrigue us, and lastly, we offer up our predictions for the West, East, and the whole Finals schabang.

(17 - 33) Mad Men! Only four episodes in to S5 and there have already been so many memorable moments (dinner parties, fat Betty’s, office fight clubs!), but we worry Mad Men is a little too unsubtle these days! Do you feel like you have to put on your “Unpacking Metaphor” hat every time you watch the show? We unpack that question in this segment, but eventually talk off our Metaphor Hats and put on our We Enjoy This Show Hats!

(33 - 51) Lastly, we discuss this season of Justified, including the EXPLOSIVE finale. We debate all the hard questions: did the show take a step back this season in the villain department by going with quantity and quality? Is Boyd better than Raylan? Listening to this segment is the ONLY way too hear the definitive answers to these cut and dry questions, so don’t miss it.

Thanks for listening, guys. Tweet us your thoughts at: @visserofozcast, @peteroverzet, and @austipasti.

Mar 25

For Episode 15 of the Visser of Ozcast, we welcomed dear friend and fellow podcaster Pieter Baker (@PieterABaker & WiFi Radio) into our continental Skype studios for a fun discussion. This episode breaks our usual mold of systematically discussing a handful of select topics. Instead we let the good vibes and good company direct us in a myriad of fun tangents. Don’t worry, regular listeners, we still hit on all of the usual pop culture and sporty goodness you expect and love from the two-man wrecking ball crew at the VoO, but Pieter injects some welcomed easy going vibes to our usual buttoned-up affair. It’s tough to nail down a theme from this ep, although we do spend a good portion at the beginning of the episode discussing the Hunger Games phenomenon. SPOILER: kids get mutilated by tridents and we all agree to disagree about its artistic and entertainment merits! Anyways, buckle up for this free form ride and be sure to check Pieter out on Twitter and at his own podcast when you get a chance.

Mar 17

Long time no see, friends/listeners/lovers! The boys at Visser of Ozcast are back once again with a super special St. Paddy’s Day blowout episode. So set down your potatoes and stop balancing that green beverage on your stupid head, ‘cuz it’s time to feast your ears on a variety of topical sports and culture talking points. We at the Visser of Ozcast would like to believe that we offer a little something for everyone, so if any of the following nuggets don’t even remotely pique your curiosity, then you probably don’t have a pulse:

- March Madness is back and better than ever! We discuss all the upsets. Do not miss this segment, folks! (0:00 - 0:07:28)

- NFL Free Agency is heating up and now that the Colts sucked for Luck, a trio of teams are now panning for Manning. We break the news on which team’s are cravin’ for Peyton. Don’t miss this exclusive, guys! (0:07:28 - 0:26:30)

- The NBA trade deadline passed on Thursday and a handful of significant players swapped teams. We’ll let you know the massive implications of the moves, including the birth of the Javale McGee renaissance in Denver. You won’t want to miss us talking about all of the text messages Ms. McGee sent us after the trade! (0:26:30 - 0:43:16)

- Finally, we take a break from sports talk, to dish on high culture: the Guggenheim’s newest performance art exhibit, Justified’s third season, the return of Mad Men, and the best comedy show on TV right now, Key & Peele. We rank ‘em, spank ‘em, and flank ‘em. Don’t get caught out in the cold on this one, guys! (0:43:16 - 0:51:20)

Wow, almost impossible NOT to listen to this episode with all of those bombshells being dropped. I feel like you guys would be LOSING money on this free podcast if you didn’t give it a spin. Can’t imagine a better way to spend St. Patty’s Day than with the boys at the Visser of Ozcast, so throw it on the ‘old vinyl and smash a few Irish Car Bombs. It’s time to celebrate!

Nov 24

Forget family and good health, Visser of Ozcast fans have Episode 13.2 to be thankful for!

Yup, hot off the heels of Episode 13.1 (it’s as if Episode 13.2 was PREORDAINED!), we bring you a special holiday installment of the VoO.

In this episode, we discuss our first Netflix Pick of the week, the Javier Bardem-driven film Biutiful. We sift through 2.5 hours of depression porn in an attempt to justify its selection in the Visser of Ozcast cannon. Do we succeed? Only YOU can be the judge. We also settle on our next—and hopefully more accessible—Netflix Instant pick of the week: Network. Ya, it was made in 1976, but Stephen Colbert said it is his favorite movie, so there is your ringing endorsement, skeptics.

To ensure we met our avant-garde movie podcast discussion quotient for the holiday weekend, we also get around to discussing the year’s most polarizing film (no, not Happy Feet 2, silly…get it, polar—ah, nevermind!), Tree of Life. I bet Terrence Malick would have loved that joke. Overall, we enjoyed the film, but are divided on whether we would ever watch it again. BOOM: Criticism, thy name is Visser of Ozcast.

Finally, we tease the Thanksgiving slate of NFL action so you can act like some hot shot NFL fan stud at the turkey table tomorrow. Packers in a shootout, Cowboys in a route, and Ravens convincingly. Take it to the bank (unless it is closed, in which case, hide your winnings underneath your pillow!).

Catch ya on the flip side, y’all.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Visser of Ozcast!

Biutiful: 0:00

Tree of Life: 0:10

Thanksgiving NFL action: 0:25

Nov 22

Please do not be alarmed. I know you all have grown accostomed to our warm and welcoming voices over the years, but we thought we would mix things up and bring a guest on the show to spice things up for a special mini episode. We invited our good friend Mike Skubik (follow him) into the Ozcast studios to throw down on the state of Community in the aftermath of the mid-season shelving.

Mike dons a beef jerky mustache and beard (audio only, sorry) in an act of solidarity with the dark timeline NBC has set Community on. Eventually we talk him off the ledge, citing syndication and NBC’s sympathy as possible reasons for optimism. We also toss around the idea of the show benefiting from martyrdom a la Party Down and Arrested Development. We also somehow weave in some Ricky Gervais bashing in the mix, so enjoy that!

Oh, and if you are questioning our guest’s bonafides, just know Visser of Ozcast was the SECOND podcast he appeared on that day. We are very excited for Mike to reap the benefits of the Visser of Ozcast bump, though.

Nov 13

Two episodes within 7 days? Don’t look now, but Visser of Ozcast is hitting its stride mere weeks removed from a long podcasting hibernation!

Before the show gets underway, we excitedly address our first ever piece of reader mail, which made a convincing case for AMC’s portrayal of zombies.

After basking in the glow of listener feedback, we set our eyes on NBC’s Thursday night slate of television, otherwise known as “Comedy Night Done Right.” More like, “Comedy Night Done Almost Right” (because of Whitney, amiright?!). Don’t worry, we don’t talk about Whitney. We do come to the conclusion that for the most part, Community, Parks & Rec, and The Office are pleasant and charming enough, but not necessarily churning out knee-slappers. The Office has certainly lost a step without Carell manning Dunder Mifflin. This year’s “Remedial Chaos Theory” is one of the better episodes in the entire Community cannon, but the season is still off to a relatively slow start. Parks & Rec has probably been the most consistently funny of the three and for the most part avoids the nauseating voice-over moralizing crutch at the end of its episodes that has somehow become a staple of sit-coms these days (I’m looking at you, Modern Family). Show don’t tell, y’all!

Despite our indifference last week, we succumbed to the AMC vortex and watched the Hell On Wheels pilot. We agree that if AMC is serious about entering the comedy market, casting Common as an ex-slave is a great place to start. For the most part, Hell on Wheels is itself not unlike an unfinished railroad, meandering its way through the middle of the country with no discernible end in sight. The pilot casts a wide net, introducing a lot of characters and potential directions the show could head, but it sadly appears AMC is content to use a cookie cutter Deadwood mold to fulfill their western period piece quota. It could turn around, but we aren’t holding our breath. Oh, and whoever is the Hell on Wheels cinematographer needs to chill out with their brightness, contrast, and sepia knobs.

We transition from one train wreck to another, the AFC West. The Raiders now lead the division at 5-4, with the inept Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs all sitting at 4-5. While the division title is certainly up for grabs, not one of these teams is inspiring much confidence. Look elsewhere for watchable football.

Finally, we introduce a new Visser of Ozcast segment, where we pick a movie available on Netflix Instant that we all can watch during the week and then discuss on the following episode. This week’s pick, Biutiful, is a foreign language film starring Javier Barden (relax, ladies!). So fire up your Qwikster and test your laziness with some good ol’ subtitles!

See ya next week, Ozcasters.

Reader Mail: 00:01:30

Netflix Pick of the Week: 00:31:00

Stream the episode below or right click/save as on this post’s title to download the MP3 to your Zune or whatever.

Nov 07

Nov 06

Well, well, well. It’s been too long, members of Visser of Ozcast Nation (and by “nation,” I mean these two). After an eighth month hiatus, we are finally back with a JAM-PACKED episode of that fire-breathing, pop culture/sporty goodness you’ve come to expect from this transcontinental podcast operation.

We waste little time dusting off the cobwebs, jumping right into a discussion about season two of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Despite never-ending plot holes, repeated inconsistencies, 2D characters, and a pacing equivalent to the limp of a zombie, we somehow arrive at the sad conclusion that we will continue to do the mental gymnastics necessary to justify watching the show. Gluttons for punishment, we are.

To cleanse the AMC pallet, we do a very belated wrap-up of the terrific fourth season of Breaking Bad. Does the Walt/Lily of the Valley math add up? Should Giancarlo Esposito win an Emmy for his S4 performance? And just how badly will shit hit the fan in the remaining 16 episodes? If you think those are just rhetorical questions, boy are you in for a treat upon pressing the little play button down below.

We then make the jump from unparalleled scripted TV drama to the NBA lockout, which is playing out like a horror movie script (with David Stern playing the timeless role of “Man Wielding A Chainshaw”). We break down the owners and players positions, who we think is at fault, and why there is little reason for optimism at this point. Sigh.

Lastly, we bring the show on home with some NFL and fantasy football talk for all of you fake footballers. One of us promises the Chargers will turn it around this week against the undefeated Packers. So take that to the bank and don’t think twice.

Alright, now that the table is set, go ahead and sloppily tuck that napkin into your shirt and dig in to this auditory feast:

Walking Dead: 0:00

Thanks for listening! If you want to shoot us an e-mail with any show topics you’d like to hear in the future or just to tell us why we are idiots, you can do so at visserofozcast@gmail.com. Hear ya later!

Mar 09

Whoa! It’s Visser of Ozcast’s 10th episode and it still feels just like it did the very first time!

We decided to put all of the fanfare on ice (we’re saving ourselves for our 1,000th episode!) and just get down to business. Very important business! Especially very important business if you’re Eric Spoelstra and a square peg/round hole team of tear-prone prima donnas.

Yup, we kick off the show dishing on America’s favorite team to hate: The Miami Heat, or as some people like to call them these days, Two and a Half Men (for the record, Sheen jokes are not funny anymore unless they come at the expense of Chris Boshtrich). After Sunday’s 4th straight loss (UPDATE: Now 5 after Portland blazed a trail of tears through South Beach last night) to the Bulls, the Heat are looking like a team primed for a second round playoff drubbing.

And while the Miami Heat have a medley of internal problems (late game inefficiency, questions surrounding alpha dog roles, a supporting cast not up to the challenge, a cry-snitching coach, etc.), their biggest problem on Sunday was Derrick Rose. At this point in the season, it’s no surprise to watch Rose carve up any team, but the way he methodically and efficiently got to the hoop and consistently finished looked like a bullet point on a M.V. P. resume.

From there, we take our talents to the silver screen to talk about two movies: Monsters and The Adjustment Bureau. One of which is a pleasant, unheralded surprise and an uncovered sci-fi gem with a modest budget. The other, the poor, poor, poor man’s Inception filled with plot holes, smoke and mirror stakes, and angels in hats!

So pull up a chair and grab a Q-tip. You’re going to want your ears fully optimized for this one.

Feb 24

It’s Episode 9 and we’re talking loads of NBA and a dash of Friday Night Lights!

The NBA All Star Weekend and trade deadline have combined to create a tsunami’s worth of Visser of Ozcast fodder! We kick off the show with a brief recap of the weekend’s All Star festivities. We stop just short of calling the dunk contest “officially back” and join Demar DeRozan in making a plea to eliminate all of the props from future dunk contests. Unless you’re name is Javal McGee and you want to dunk like 19 balls in 13 hoops simultaneously, in which case, by all means because you are an athletic freak. We also touch on the All Star game and Kobe being Kobe and LeBron being Lebron. The real winners, though? The coaches (Pop and Doc), who somehow got away with playing their conference rivals’ stars (Kobe/Pau and Heatles) ridiculous minutes while resting their own (Duncan, the Cetlics). We also join the internets in lavishing praise on The Basketball Jones, who easily won the weekend with all of their video goodies. Seriously, check some out over at www.thescore.com/tbj, but don’t fall in love too much! *We’re* your one-stop shop for delayed reactions to NBA news!

Whoa, this recap is already ridiculously detailed and kind of laughing in the face of the definition of “recap.” So, I’ll make this quick. We transition from the All Star game to the massive Melo trade that finally went down. Everyone wins, although we’d rank the winners in order as 1) Melo 2) The Nuggets and 3) The Knicks. Like any trade, let’s reevaluate at the end of the season!

Finally, we both reveal our new obsessions with Friday Night Lights. We know, all the cool TV heads have been hip to the dusty, Austin-based football drama for years now, but please make room for us on the cattle car, will ya?

That’s it for now, folks. Thanks for listening to us talk: