The Meltdown: "The One with the Travel Stories"

The Meltdown just keeps getting better and better. Kumail and Jonah start out this week’s episode by discussing the fact that they are filming a TV show. They warn the audience, “If we stop talking, you laugh,” to which, of course, the audience does. One of the reasons the show works is the chemistry between the hosts. Jonah thinks it’s because they’re so similar while Kumail points out all their differences. Kumail considers himself a well put together man of the people and he considers Jonah kind of a scumbag. It’s a fun riff, and regardless of why they complement each other, they certainly do.

Before Pete Holmes takes the stage he makes a crack about how long Jonah and Kumail’s opening bits can be. “This is like a normal Meltdown show. Kumail and Jonah doing a tight 45 up top, but don’t worry it’s riffed so…” he jokes, rolling his eyes. He then immediately begins to riff himself. Just having fun, what The Meltdown is all about.

Backstage, Brody Stevens tries out a joke with some comedians and it completely bombs. “I’m just going to wing it,” he says right before taking the stage. Once he’s out there it shows, but in a good way. He’s loose, energetic, and angry. He starts to look at his notebook for a second but then decides the audience deserves him and his energy.

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Jonah and Kumail come back out to talk about a few more things. They banter about their names. Kumail has had his name mispronounced plenty of times. The best one is when Jonah and Kumail were in Montreal and got introduced as “Jonas and “Camel.” Kumail jokes, “You know for sure my name isn’t Camel. You know my brown parents didn’t look at their brown baby and say Camel, right?”

Garfunkel & Oates are next and they play their song “Loophole,” which is about “the sex that God can’t see.” It was a great performance but I would have loved to see more. After their set backstage, Pete Holmes and Thomas Lennon start doing a male rendition of the song. Kyle Kinane joins in on the kazoo and it’s a beautiful jam session.

Rory Scovel is the last performer to take the stage and he’s the perfect closer. He convinces the entire audience to clap throughout his set which causes complete chaos. He calls out the cameramen and screams at them, “This is our show. Fuck you. Get out!” The clapping continues until Jonah and Kumail join in and it quickly turns into a standing ovation. Rory tells no written jokes and when he gets off stage Emily, Kumail’s wife and producer of the show, is amazed. “I have never in my life seen anything like that,” she says.

The Meltdown: “The One with the Travel Stories”

(Episode 1.03)