Production Diary, Part I: The Beginning of the Beginning

One would think that an influential and hilarious podcast such as The Scope would sprout from the mind of the world’s greatest comedian (possibly Louie Anderson or Bobcat Goldthwaith) with the singular intention to construct and broadcast comedy that would literally change the face of civilization.

One would think.

Truth be told, The Scope has much humbler origins. In fact, this podcast-to-be started as an off-handed comment in a conversation that followed a birthday party.

In the summer of 2005, Shane, along with his wife, Carrie, hosted an elaborate birthday gathering. While the seedy events of this party shall remain undocumented until a future date (and a future episode of The Scope), it can be revealed that Jared and Shane created an interactive trivia-type game for all the partygoers. Needless to say, the game was an unqualified success. The guests seemed to enjoy the competition and the guys basked in the afterglow of a job well done.

Shortly after the party, Jared and Shane talked about how they could duplicate the creative magic. The reality was unless they traveled from party to party like some sort of nerdy circus train, it was unlikely anything would come of it. In the end, the idea was shelved. Tears were shed. The dream was over. Or was it?

A few months passed. Even though the birthday party was a distant memory, both never stopped thinking about working together…in some way. While the next sequence of events are hazy, let’s just say “Guy 1” IMed “Guy 2” asking if he would want to try and create something cool – maybe like a podcast. “Guy 2” said “Yes,” “Guy 1” said “Cool,” and the plans were set in motion. It didn’t really matter who said what. The bottom line is this: the show was on the way…and it would be awesome.

Jared and Shane felt undefeatable. They were going to beat everyone to the podcasting punch. Get ahead of the technology curve. Because, let’s face it, no one was doing podcasts. Clearly, these guys were blazing trails.

Ahem.

At any rate, it seemed like a great idea at the time. Even so, serious questions remained. What exactly would Jared and Shane talk about? Why would anyone want to listen to a couple of nerds? (Well-adjusted nerds, but nerds nonetheless.) And could the show be done with only two hosts?

All of these questions and more would be answered when the new guy, Adam, entered the picture…

The story continues in Production Diary, Part II: Up and Adam…

Category: Production Diary  |  Time: 10:58 pm (CST)  |  

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