Comedy Bang! Bang!: “Kevin Smith”

This week’s Comedy Bang! Bang! is truly a meeting of podcast legends. On one hand, there’s Scott Aukerman, creator of the CBB podcast, as well as the Earwolf network of podcast stations. And then there’s Kevin Smith, who created the SModcast podcast network, and even quit directing for a small period of time to refocus his career on the burgeoning medium. But both also know how to bring their podcast personalities to other forms, such as the Comedy Bang! Bang! TV show, and Kevin Smith also has various TV shows and cartoons created from his podcasts. So it’s no surprise that on “Kevin Smith,” Aukerman and Smith are fun together, in a nicely focused episode.

Last week’s “Amber Tamblyn” took the show in a different direction from what we’ve seen before. Comedy Bang! Bang! is known for going off the rails into typically hilarious scenarios. On the podcast, this makes more sense, since the show is sort of spur of the moment, whereas on the TV show, it can sometimes feel a little more clumsy. “Amber Tamblyn” did a fine job of using all the strange diversions, to focus in on the main plot at hand. Not only did that strengthen the week’s conceit, but it also gave everyone involved so much more to do.

“Kevin Smith” focuses on Scott’s 28th birthday, which everyone has forgotten. Reggie is attempting to give Scott his birthday wish by getting Stevie Wonder to appear, and sing the love theme from Mulan before the episode is over. These last two episodes have also focused on the bond between Scott and Reggie, which is rarely the case. Often the episode focuses on Scott, with Reggie occasionally jumping into the spotlight. This split focus is a welcome change.