I love fantasy. I like stories with dragons and knights, and the idea that magic (and to an extent anything) is possible. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy are arguably some of my favorite movies ever, and "Harry Potter" changed my life in the best way. It's also what I like to write in my spare time.
But I also love comedy. I like driving while I listen to stand up specials, and I love watching TV shows like "Key and Peele" and "Comedy Bang Bang" shows with hilarious sketches and quick wits. Improv specifically is something that I've grown to love. It makes for an exciting performance, the knowledge that people are coming up with plots on the spot. But I can't fill my love for those genres at the same time...right?
Well, what if there were a podcast that fused fantasy and improv comedy into one spectacular show? THERE IS? YES, there certainly is. It's a podcast I recently stumbled upon called "Hello From the Magic Tavern" and every nerd and comedy lover should know about it.
In March of 2015, Arnie Niekamp fell through a portal behind a Burger King in Chicago. He fell through the portal into the magical land of Foon. Luckily, he had his podcasting equipment handy, and still gets a slight WiFi signal through the dimensional rift from the Burger King, and is able to upload a weekly podcast from the tavern he is staying in, The Vermilion Minotaur. Every week for the last year and a half, he's interviewed guests, wanting the rest of the world to know about this undiscovered land, but every host needs a co host. Arnie has two!
Arnie is joined by Usidore, Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies, Master of Light and Shadow, Manipulator of Magical Delights, Devourer of Chaos, Champion of the Great Halls of Terr'akkas. The elves know him as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarves know him as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. He is also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar. Or just Usidore, his full name is a bit of a mouth full, but that doesn't stop the actor who plays him, Matt Young, from spouting the name masterfully at the beginning of each episode with a new type of fresh hilarity. Usidore is the show's cultural expert, and answers most of Arnie's questions that he has about Foon. His main goal is to gather recruits to help him on his quest to defeat the Dark Lord, but often has trouble getting people to join his team.
The podcast's other host is Chunt. Chunt (played by Adal Rifai) is a shapeshifter, who spends most of his time on the podcast in the form of a badger. Chunt's form depends on who he sleeps with, as he takes the form of the person he last had sex with. Chunt is Arnie's best friend and often likes to poke fun at Arnie for not making an attempt to contact his wife back on Earth. He comes up with catch phrases for himself, and is proud of every aspect of being who he is: a lustful badger with an attitude.
Together, Arnie, Usidore and Chunt interview guests so that Arnie can get a better understanding of this fantastical land. They've had witches, trolls, skeletons, princes, goblins and so many magical creatures that you've probably never even heard of! The interviews can go in any direction, sometimes when the guests turn out to be evil (such as the SoulWalker) the trio must think of a way to defeat them.
This podcast is incredible. Arnie Niekamp is an incredible straight man and is always able to steer the conversations in the right direction, but still able to make his own jokes. He likes to make Earth references that often confuse Chunt and Usidore, much to their aggravation. Adal Rifai is great as Chunt, and plays a cool and collected character that you can't help but love. His catchphrases ("MMMMM CHUNT PLEASE") while they may have no point, always seem to land perfectly. Matt Young always brings the energy to each episode, often getting excited and yelling his parts. It's like if Ian McKellen did every line the way he does "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" as Gandalf.
The production is another entirely wonderful thing in itself. As the title says, they podcast from the inside of a tavern. In the background of each episode, the shuffling of feet and crackling of fire can be heard. When one of the three stand up, the sound of wood scraping on wood can be cuts through the conversation, and there's a slight echo on their microphones, giving the feeling that they are in a big space. Likewise to these effects, Usidore's magic (pitiful as it may be) is always accompanied by a fantastical sound effect, and swords and other weapons are granted their appropriate sound effects.
It's an absurd show. It feels almost as if someone made an entire series of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". The show pokes fun at overused fantasy tropes, and often calls on familiar stories as if they are their own. And though they poke fun, there's an underlying respect towards fantasy in this show. It's clear that all of the hosts have backgrounds in the geek culture, and it bleeds through in this incredible production. Though they sometimes break character, the man behind the curtain is rarely shown in the podcast. This devout charade makes this podcast convincing, magical and above all, funny.
"Hello From the Magic Tavern" comes out every Monday. They're about 70 episodes in, but each episode is only about 30 minutes, I can't recommend this show enough.
