Comedy Bang! Bang!: “Thomas Middleditch”
(Episode 4.18) Thomas Middleditch Wears an Enigmatic Sweatshirt and Sweatpants With Pockets
As much as I enjoy Silicon Valley, I always thought putting Thomas Middleditch as the show’s straight man was an odd choice. Yes, Middleditch is great as Richard Hendricks, but with one of the funniest casts on TV, it is sort of a shame to not get to see the height of his comedic talents. Thankfully Comedy Bang! Bang! is here to give us the hilarious Middleditch that we don’t usually get on HBO.
“Thomas Middleditch Wears and Enigmatic Sweatshirt and Sweatpants With Pockets” occasionally brings out that darker side of Comedy Bang! Bang! that sometimes comes across on the podcast, but rarely makes it to the TV show. In this week’s episode, Comedy Bang! Bang! is hosting a contest to interview a fan, the winner being a teenager named Brody SouthDakotee, who is actually Scott Aukerman. For some reason, Scott sometimes dresses up like a teenager—Brody—and hangs out with his high school friends. As the “Brody SouthDakotee” theme song points out, it doesn’t make any sense, no one is forcing him to do this and it’s a lot like Hannah Montana.
Brody’s friends add a great level of darkness to the story though, as Brody is noticeably absent whenever Scott is hosting the show. They point out that if Brody doesn’t show up to be interviewed, not only will they no longer be Brody’s friends, they’ll also drop out of school, take drugs and kill themselves. The friends are so joyous, but also harbor a darkness that allows them to break the fourth wall and call Edward Snowden a traitor to America, for no good reason. Scott’s cover up also has moments of darkness, such as his album “Songs That Prove I’m a Teenager,” which features the track “I’m Too Young to Remember 9/11.” To make things even slightly creepier, for the first time ever, we find out that Comedy Bang! Bang! has always had a live audience, it’s just that over the last four seasons, they’ve never laughed. Ever.