I'll say this right up front: I'm not a huge fan of Opie & Anthony. I've been a Howard Stern guy for 17 years, and I've been enjoying him too much on Sirius to listen to anyone else. But that doesn't mean I automatically hate O&A; I've always thought they were pretty funny during their WNEW days, and the bits from XM I've heard them do -- my friend Roger has it on in the car whenever we go anywhere -- have also been extremely well-done. Unlike most of the "shock jocks" out there, they seem to have a point of view that is genuine and not just created to fashion a persona. And, it doesn't hurt that the show employs some of the best stand-ups out there, like Jimmy Norton, Rich Vos, and Patrice O'Neal.So when I heard that O&A were going on Letterman last night, I was very interested in seeing what they had to say. Would they try to be outrageous like Stern always tried to be? Would they be real? Would they just do a constant rip job on Stern, who they felt abused his position to go behind their backs, keeping them from talking about him when they both worked for Infinity? I'll have to admit that they did a nice job. I only wish Anthony would have let Opie get a word in edgewise.
First of all, Letterman, a Stern loyalist, really seemed to enjoy the two of them, laughing at their stories of getting fired at various outposts. For instance, they got fired from their Boston station because they told the audience that the Mayor had died -- it was an April Fool's joke -- and people took them seriously. And, all New York radio fans know how they got fired from WNEW; they aired play-by-play of two fans having sex at St. Patrick's Cathedral (the venue was the listeners' choice). Letterman also enjoyed their complicated procedure of having to move from the Free FM studio where they do the terrestrial portion of their show, to the XM studio, where they do the more raunchy final 2 hours exclusively on satellite.
Like I said, it looked like Anthony did most of the talking. I don't know if they decided on that beforehand or if it was just an "in the moment" thing, but I wish the responses to Dave's questions would have been split a little more evenly. It could have been just a nervousness factor, but I know Opie talks more than that on the radio. No big deal; Anthony's always been the funnier of the two anyway, and he got off a bunch of good lines, especially when he lamented that he always gets the worst part of the common "Opie & Dopie" insults that get thrown at them (hint: he's "Dopie").
But the subject of Howard couldn't be avoided. Letterman tried more than once to get the pair to acknowledge that Stern paved the way for guys like them to be on the radio, but O&A only responded to that begrudginly. At this point, they feel, their feud with Stern is personal, since Stern has admitted that he did all he could behind the scenes to keep them quiet. Anthony let loose with his uncanny Stern impression, making fun of Howard's tendency to claim he invented everything. "I invented Morse code, Robin. Dot dash dot dash. That was me. Hoohoo." I'll admit that I've always loved the job Anthony does on the impression, and since I've never been a fan with Howard's bragging, the jokes about inventing the in-and-out of breathing are funny to me.
Overall, a nice job by the boys. I'm sure Dave will ask them back. Maybe the second time around, Opie will do the talking.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-05-2006 @ 10:30AM
Mario said...
Does Opie talk? They really did not do a good job promoting either of their shows (terrestrial or XM).
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9-01-2006 @ 3:17PM
mgroves said...
They did a fine job. They weren't as rip roaringly funny as I'd like, but as far as promotion goes, they reached a huge audience: that alone is good promotion.
Plus, when they go on Leno, they'll do even better. Maybe Jim Norton can come along!
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9-01-2006 @ 5:40PM
BP Galvin said...
On today's show the boys let it slip that right after their appearance, a producer from the Letterman show asked them back on the spot, as I here it that just about never happens, they are booked for sometime in December.
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9-01-2006 @ 4:20PM
homerj312 said...
everybody loves don and mike
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9-01-2006 @ 6:07PM
RGregg said...
"3. everybody loves don and mike"
no.... no they don't.
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9-01-2006 @ 8:22PM
Kevin M. said...
Well that was .... two years overdue. This seemd to be a retrospective of O&A, firings past, the gag order, and then the SLIGHTEST bit about the new show.
I have been an O&A fan since they became "free" on XM in April 05. Face it Stern fans, they've got more listeners these days. He's been around too long. It's time for Howard to step down. And he has, just not all the way down.
I thought the appearance was funny, especially for fans. But we want Jimmy! Jimmy makes the show waaay funnier.
Also, CBS needs to get rid of the REDICULOUS wide-angle shot they give the HD feed. When there are two guests at once, they are crammed into the 4:3 safe zone and the edges are filled with... nothing, really. They need to give the open matte to the 4:3 viewers. Really, it makes no difference, because no matter what they are going to get the same thing. The HD viewers sould be given a better crop. And no I will not do it myself, that would lower the resolution.
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9-13-2006 @ 8:43PM
Rummie C. said...
Opie & Anthony aren't funny. They're just a couple of amusingly nice guys who are more entertaining than traffic gridlock. Stern is a master and he makes these guys look like amateurs. Howard's humor is timelessly youthful and great fun, regardless of his own age. He and his crew are ageless masters of the radio comedy medium. In radio, its what listeners hear, not who and what they see. Its called "theatre of the mind," because we listen and make things appear on the big screen in our heads. Thats why ugly guys like Stern, Opie, Anthony, and Norton are on the radio. If you look at them on TV, its hard to laugh. These guys are ugly. Only a few performers get to be really great. Stern has. Opie and Anthony never will. However, they are nice guys, and are lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. They will never fill Stern's talented shoes, but hopefully, they will be paid loads of cash by CBS to try.
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9-02-2006 @ 1:38PM
Clark said...
I don't know what is worst, Last night Letterman ratings or the delusional O&A fans who thought that they were funny. Face it, opie and anthony will never have Howards talent or ratings.
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9-02-2006 @ 4:03AM
Dave said...
In case anyone is wondering about why on earth they would take the stern thing "personally". Howard admitted on Hannity a few months ago he did in fact place a gag order on them. Making it, personal. And like Anthony The Great said, Howard used to take on all, in their face. Not this time.
It was a great showing. Opie..... well, Opie created a monster and his name is Anthony. They mentioned this morning they have already been booked for a show in december on Letterman. I want to see them do Conan.
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9-02-2006 @ 11:03AM
T.Howell said...
There's a couple of radio guy's that were on in Chicago that from what I've heard probably paved the way for Stern and O&P!Steve Dahl and Garry Meier were doing these wild type of radio show's in the 80's through early 90's.They were even on satellite in several other market's.Sound's to me like these guy's should give Steve and Garry some acknowledgment of this fact!If you don't know history the world is a mystery.
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9-02-2006 @ 9:40AM
William said...
Overall it was a great appearance. I do wish Opie would talk more but I could tell he was a little nervous. On the next appearance I'm sure they wont have to rehash the firings and probably won't mention Hoo Hoo Howie at all. They will be able to talk and riff more which is what they do best. Next up. LENO!
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9-02-2006 @ 10:21AM
revid_ffum said...
Joel, very good article. Thanks for writing an unbiased review even though you are a Stern fan. Most stern fans are uninformed about O&A so they make blanket statements that they have heard Howard or other fans say.
Thanks again.
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9-02-2006 @ 12:23PM
Dahl said...
They actually did give Dahl credit for being the first true "shockjock" and also had him on their show right after they started in Chicago a few weeks ago.
Don (of Don and Mike) was talking about how much he was influenced by Steve Dahl too, and mentioned that he was Howard before Howard was.
In fact the only person who hasn't mentioned him in the 10 or so years I've been listening is Howard.
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9-02-2006 @ 12:37PM
jim jackson said...
Wonderful unbiased review sir. Its so refreshing to hear a stern fan not immediately bash opie and anthony.
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9-02-2006 @ 12:46PM
Joel Keller said...
To those who reminded me about Stern admitting to his asking for the gag order: you are right. I forgot that he admitted to that. I changed those references in my review.
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9-02-2006 @ 1:32PM
Fredrica Bimmel said...
I think they did a wonderful job, Ant showed off his killer Hoo Hoo Impression, I was afraid that Dave would keep on with the Howard stuff, but he stopped and actually truly laughed at the impression bit. GREAT JOB BBBOOOYYYYSSS!
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9-02-2006 @ 2:25PM
Joey Geraci said...
Howard has talent?
Have you seen Howard's late night tv show? It is the most ridiculously boring outrageously not funny show I have ever seen. If his radio show is anything like that, his fans must be braindead.
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9-02-2006 @ 3:11PM
David said...
I have seen Howard's late night show and it was ten times more funny than anything Opie and Anthony has ever or will ever do. Their Late Show appearance was horrible and the only people praising it are their small fan base and the writer of this blog who is clearly a fraud who went out of his way to say that he's a Howard Stern fan in order for people to take his opinion seriously.
CBS must be desperate to promote these untalented hacks.
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9-02-2006 @ 3:12PM
Joel Keller said...
David, search for the words "Howard Stern" on this blog and you'll see that I have done about 90% of the Howard-related posts. I just don't buy into the fact that I *have* to hate O&A just because I listen to Stern. It's not like the Yankees and the Red Sox here, at least not to me.
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9-02-2006 @ 3:29PM
Sandy said...
Opie and Anthony are not even in the same league as Howard Stern. At least Stern is funny.
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