Comedy Bang! Bang!: “Paul Rudd Wears A Red Lumberjack Flannel Shirt” (Episode 1.06)

If there’s been any problem with Comedy Bang! Bang! so far, it’s probably the way the various skits flow into each other. Usually only Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts connect them, but just barely, as the show goes in any direction it chooses without any connective tissue. In “Paul Rudd Wears A Red Lumberjack Flannel Shirt,” the show rights this, making each segment flow into the next, making the show much more of one unit, rather than a bunch of ideas thrown into a show regardless of how successful they are.
The theme for this episode is that Scott is recreating the talk show he’s always wanted since he was 11. That means breaking out the old acid-washed jean jacket, having a water fountain that dispenses Sullivans soda (a nice callback) and even getting the hottest girl in school, Sydney Linderman, played by Jenny Slate, to watch him host the show. Unfortunately, time has not been so kind to Linderman, who claims to have three boobs, gets Nicorette gum stuck in her hair and sniffs her nail file after using it.
After a quick visit from the show’s biggest fan, God, Scott shows his appearance on a show called Secret Agent Boss, a great parody of the real Undercover Boss show. In it, Scott gets a makeover that consists of nothing more than a mustache, takes acting lessons from a coach played by Paul Rust and gets cufflinks and belt buckle weapons from a scientist played by Todd Barry. He infiltrates the show, talks to Reggie for a while and then shoots him with a dart and runs away in fear.
Appearing on the couch this week is Paul Rudd, who gets meme and mime mixed up, as he and Scott do their own slightly disturbing mime routine. Once Rudd makes a Casablanca reference, Brody Stevens shows up as the referencee, who will call out every reference that Scott and Paul make. For example, saying “my wife” is a reference to Borat (another great reference to the podcast) and saying “Yesterday” is a reference to The Beatles song of the same name.