ZipperFish Live Versus ZipperFish Talk Radio

Friday night change I can believe in.

Recently, the webcast I watch on Friday nights went back to its roots as primarily an audiocast. This change included the return of one of the original hosts, a person calling himself Jack the Radio Guy.

Fan reaction to this change has been less than positive, to put it mildly. Personally, I'm fine with the change. I quite like Jack, because now both hosts, Jack and Jim “The Walrus” Choma, are guys I can honestly say I look up to and would like to be more like. Both are smart men with really good jobs and can make their points well.

Under the ZipperFish Live format, the cohost was often a guy calling himself Roach. I liked Roach, too, because it was kind of easy for me to play off him in the show's chat room. Of course, part of the reason for that was because Roach came across as something of an alcoholic, depressed version of myself. Even if that's not how he was in real life, that's how he came across on the show. In part because of this, the show had been largely video in nature, and to keep up, a viewer would have to watch as much as possible.

With this Talk Radio format that's being brought back, we have two hosts who are fairly sober during the show, though they do have drinks during the show. As a result, there are more audio-only clips and discussion that actually makes sense without having to rely on video as much. I like this because I can be doing other things while the show is on and not have to worry so much about missing something.

This is, of course, not to say that I particularly minded the video portions of ZFL. It was always interesting to see what the ladies of the View were up to during the week, or what various FOX News celebs were spouting off about. I just think I'm more fond of not having to watch the show like a hawk to keep up with what's going on.

I think if I had to choose which version of the show I like better, I'd have to say the Talk Radio version, simply because I'd like to be working on other things while I listen to the show. This is because I have a rather large pile of things built up on my desk, and having a little extra attention to give it while listening to something I enjoy is a good thing.

The show currently airs on its uStream channel on Friday nights at 10 PM Eastern out of Eastern Florida, USA. For samples, see also the archive of past shows beneath the “show information” section.