That's my Cheese Monster talking

April 9, 2012 5:02 PM

Five years after Ze Frank's much-loved if uncategorizable The Show closed down (previously), the vlogger/humorist/online performance artist has returned with A Show. via
posted by Doktor Zed (68 comments total)

Life is good again.

Little duckies~
posted by curious nu at 5:04 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

My perfectionist drowned at my pool party.
posted by Xurando at 5:09 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Fuck the haters. I like Ze. Looking forward to his show!
posted by chasing at 5:11 PM on April 9, 2012

Holy crap, hell yeah. I love Ze. This is a great, great start of something good.
posted by waraw at 5:12 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I appreciate anyone who puts effort into making something better than tweet-size pieces of snark on the internet.

So yeah, haters gonna hate. And Ze is gonna be awesome.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 5:18 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

The new production sounds less specific.
posted by fairmettle at 5:21 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wasn't a super-huge fan of the original run - got the occasional laugh, but then it also wandered off into "HI IM ZANY" too much for me. A lot of "Hi, I'm doing this, watch if you want, I don't care".

When the Kickstarter project came around this time, I gladly threw in a pittance, and am glad I did. He seems to have... matured? mellowed? a bit, and projects a genuine surprise that SO MANY people wanted to see A/The Show again, and sincerely Does Not Want To Fuck This Up.

After watching this first "episode" / clip a day or two ago (URL was emailed out), I felt... inspired. Looking forward to the rest. Of course, I've changed a lot in the last five years too.
posted by mrbill at 5:23 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

You 15 minutes is up, dude.

A guy who's created something interesting, original and entertaining has (through an extraordinarily successful crowd-funding campaign) got a shot at making a new interesting and entertaining thing.

In the first episode of that, he talks about his fear of having lost his ability to keep doing that, and goes over the spirit of things he hopes to keep in mind as he struggles to stay upbeat, focused and confident for the people he doesn't want to let down.

And in reply, somebody else has posted a snide, one-liner that's a rehash of a rehash of a tired quote from an artist who, for all his genius, antedates the entire internet that makes that guy's thing and fan following possible.

Man, honestly: if you had to pick sides here, which side would you pick?
posted by mhoye at 5:24 PM on April 9, 2012 [20 favorites]

Was gonna post this earlier but the inevitable MeFi haters of everything caused me to reconsider and just put it on FB. Thanks for doing it; hope I'm proved wrong.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 5:26 PM on April 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Of course, neither The Show or A Show should be confused with Harry Shearer's excellent Le Show.

(Seriously? You don't listen to Le Show? You should.)
posted by hippybear at 5:28 PM on April 9, 2012

Hating Ze Frank, is that even possible? Anyways, I like this new old Ze as much as I liked the old old Ze.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:28 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Watch out Vlog Brothers - the maestro's back.
posted by jimmymcvee at 5:30 PM on April 9, 2012

If this were a cult, I would join.

If this were a religion, I would attend services.

If this were a band, I would not torrent the albums, but buy them, full price, from a local independent record store.

If this were a telethon, I would buy multiple tote bags.

Welcome back, Ze.
posted by benito.strauss at 5:32 PM on April 9, 2012 [13 favorites]

You 15 minutes is up, dude.

I'm guessing this is a removed comment, which makes referencing is problematic, but I was a fan of the original show. Ze's brain is broken. He looks at things in a manner that most people can't even imagine trying. I consider myself in that same category, but the main difference between Ze and I is that he seems to be a nice guy.

I donated to this kickstarter, and this is also one of the projects that makes me hate to "no kickstarter" links rule.

I can't say I like everything the man does, but he's about the only person that could have convinced me to join a beta social networking site that exchanged virtual stickers.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:33 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

He's good enough, he's smart enough, and — doggone it — people like him!
posted by not_on_display at 5:44 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wish something had come out of The Remnants... that seemed like another and an interesting side of Ze Frank. But this is nice, too.
posted by running order squabble fest at 5:44 PM on April 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

I wanted to like this, having enjoyed the heck out of his How To Dance and other flash toys. I really did. But I could only make it about 10 seconds at the absolute maximum with Ze’s face jammed up into the camera. I didn’t think a tiny web video could make me so claustrophobic, so fast.
posted by migurski at 5:50 PM on April 9, 2012

He blinked he blinked I saw Ze blink! Aaaah!
posted by phunniemee at 5:51 PM on April 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

Oh, good! A place to post my favorite Ze project.
posted by HuronBob at 6:05 PM on April 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yay Ze's back!

But is it just me or it looks kinda crap when shared on Facebook? I want my friends to like him, but the post ended up looking dull and unexciting. No video embed, crap icon...

Isn't it a bit 2007-like to have your ooooown show on your own site with your own insular comment system? if he's after eyeballs shouldn't he do a Facebook-based show?
posted by Tom-B at 6:09 PM on April 9, 2012

So glad he's back. His show is one of my all time favorite things on the Internet.
posted by eyeballkid at 6:09 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

if he's after eyeballs shouldn't he do a Facebook-based show?

maybe he's not after eyeballs but a community with ears and mouths.
posted by suedehead at 6:13 PM on April 9, 2012 [10 favorites]

I was able to embed the video by right clicking and choosing "copy video url" and pasting that.
posted by waraw at 6:13 PM on April 9, 2012

When people use the term "ye of little faith", that is me. I loved The Show but stopped checking Ze's site some time ago because I was left wanting. That said I was always hoping he would return with something show like and I am sorry I stopped checking and perhaps I can still give to this kickstarter people are mentioning. In conclusion:

YAY!
posted by sendai sleep master at 6:14 PM on April 9, 2012

I can't wait to see this be amazing. Ze Frank's videos flicker between self belief and self doubt so fast it makes them look like the same thing.
posted by lucidium at 6:21 PM on April 9, 2012

In my world, Ze hate is unpossible.

His return to the web make me incredibly happy. And that's not just the liquor talking.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 6:28 PM on April 9, 2012

Transcript of the video.

I love Ze. I'm so glad he's back.
posted by des at 6:34 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

I also have to say that there are times when this burgeoning world of tech we live in where the internet has leaked into our daily lives sometimes freaks me out and makes me a wee bit paranoid. Ze's output has always been a calming voice that proclaims:

"shhhh, little ducky, good can come of it, promise!"
posted by sendai sleep master at 6:43 PM on April 9, 2012

I loved The Show and I'm so glad he's back.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 6:46 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

This comment thread is short at least one positive comment, so here's mine! :-D
posted by belarius at 6:49 PM on April 9, 2012

Andy Warhol didn't say people would only be famous for 15 minutes and then their time is up.

I mean, my god, Holly Woodlawn still has a fan base. Including me!
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 6:55 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Thanks for posting this; I'm glad to see he's doing another show.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:56 PM on April 9, 2012

The punctuation mark one never ceases to amuse me. Glad to see he's back.
posted by en forme de poire at 7:03 PM on April 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Good morning, Sports Racers.
posted by device55 at 7:13 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

He is good people. Just his name evokes the excitement and promise in the early days of the web. There were a few crazy, colorful people like Ze Frank and Cocky Bastard who weren't afraid to use the web get totally silly, and make people laugh. Think back and recall seeing his dance lessons for the first time - I laughed my ass off and sent the link to everyone I knew. It was positively delightful.

Ze Frank has always been about being inclusive, fun, and kind. He was the anti-troll, an antidote to snark, the original "social" networking on a human-to-human scale - getting hundreds of people to send in photos of themselves dressed up in toilet paper fashions and being attacked by office supplies. Sure, that type of thing may be old hat today with all the automated tools at hand, but he was among the first to do so back in day when sites were handcrafted and he had to upload and post every snapshot by hand.

He's a highly creative and imaginative guy. I look forward to seeing what Ze Frank 2.0 will have in store. You go guy.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:33 PM on April 9, 2012 [7 favorites]

I was sad to find out about his kickstarter after it had closed. Welcome back, Ze, you were missed.

Screw the haters.
posted by blurker at 8:53 PM on April 9, 2012

I wish I'd contributed to the KickStarter. That video was a nice boot up my ass.

Can't wait
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 9:00 PM on April 9, 2012

i'm honestly shocked to find out there are people who dislike this guy - wtf's to dislike? creative, honest, funny? huh?
posted by facetious at 9:20 PM on April 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Good to have you back, Ze.
posted by sophist at 9:24 PM on April 9, 2012

People don't dislike Ze Frank. They dislike themselves, and Ze gets hit in the crossfire.
posted by Freen at 9:42 PM on April 9, 2012 [14 favorites]

Are the new viewers gone yet?
posted by erniepan at 10:56 PM on April 9, 2012 [6 favorites]

I contributed audio to Ze's Pain Pack (Previously) and he asked me if he could post my message on the website. After it was published, I discovered that one of my good friends whom I hadn't spoken to in a while had written a song from the samples Ze released. We found each other on the same site, at different ends. Ze brings people together. I can't wait to see what he does next.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 12:03 AM on April 10, 2012

I found The Show late, probably only a month before it finished, but I ended up watching all the episodes. Ze's humour doesn't always match my own, but I love how smart he is, and how he owns his sincerity, and his ability to make laser-sharp observations about the world. Also, he seems like a great guy, and who doesn't want more great people in their lives, even virtually?

Which is to say: yay! I happily kicked in a bit on Kickstarter, and I look forward to the new series.
posted by Georgina at 1:22 AM on April 10, 2012

Argh cannot watch old episodes on iPad 8-(
posted by mrbill at 1:51 AM on April 10, 2012

I have never seen Ze Frank before--though I recognize the name--but I'll chime in to say that this clip comes off as very Steven Pressfield.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 2:22 AM on April 10, 2012

I enjoyed his first go round, and marveled at his ability to involve his audience and think up such clever things. He's another guy who I imagine many people hate because of his success, but I'm not one of them.
posted by crunchland at 3:56 AM on April 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

mrbill: "I wasn't a super-huge fan of the original run - got the occasional laugh, but then it also wandered off into "HI IM ZANY" too much for me. A lot of "Hi, I'm doing this, watch if you want, I don't care"."

I thought that was the whole appeal.

mrbill: "Argh cannot watch old episodes on iPad 8-("

Once upon a time, you could buy the old episodes in iPod format pretty cheaply. But those links don't work anymore.
posted by Plutor at 4:51 AM on April 10, 2012

I really liked his Invocation for Beginnings. As someone who is trying to get something actually done, and knows lots of people who are struggling with getting somewhere, it really resonated with me. Especially "Let me think about the people who I care about the most, and if they fail, or disappoint me, I still love them, I still give them chances, and I still see the best in them. Let me extend that generosity to myself."
posted by Zarkonnen at 5:08 AM on April 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fan and sportsracer from the original series here, and even though he's a bit too precious at times he still walks a mean tight-rope between irony and giddy joy & curiosity. Tossed a buck in the hat and look forward to the A show: Ze Frank is good at bringing folks together, and the community last time around was fun.
posted by monocultured at 5:17 AM on April 10, 2012

Just his name evokes the excitement and promise in the early days of the web

5 years ago was not "the early days of the web" even in Internet time. Browsing all of Yahoo multiple times in an evening was the early days of the web. Amazon-in-Bezo's-garage was early days of the web.
posted by DU at 5:19 AM on April 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Screw the hard chargers.
posted by Dr-Baa at 5:45 AM on April 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

This was the first kickstarter thing i ever kickstarted. I already kinda feel like I got my money's worth.
posted by ook at 6:23 AM on April 10, 2012

5 years ago was not "the early days of the web" even in Internet time.

Yeah, but Ze was doing cool shit on the internet long before he started The Show. I remember catching his Valentine's Day video in 2003 (I think). And -- pedant alert -- The Show started in 2006, not 2007: it's almost as old as, say, Ruby on Rails.

Welcome back, Ze. You've been missed.
posted by gauche at 6:35 AM on April 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I too wish I'd been able to show my love for Ze by giving money to his kickstarter campaign.

I appreciate that he's willing to be sincere, open, and emotionally honest. The internet — the world — needs more of those qualities on display.
posted by papercake at 7:31 AM on April 10, 2012

I loved him in John August's failed pilot The Remnants. What an amazing show that would've been.
posted by hot soup girl at 8:53 AM on April 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

jimmymcvee, i think they know, considering Ze just accompanied Hank from Vlogbrothers to Nasa a few days ago.
posted by revikim at 9:10 AM on April 10, 2012

Yay! I helped fund this! I, and tons of other people... but! MY funding had results! I DID SOMETHING GOOD WITH MY MONEY!

I invested in happiness!

Oooh, RJR is down 2 points... a bargain...
posted by IAmBroom at 9:22 AM on April 10, 2012

Never could sit through many episodes of the original, but liked the Earth sandwich idea. I'm not sure if it's right to think so, but I hold him responsible for the awful smirking jump cut style prevalent among "youtube comedians." Every once in a while I run across one of those "youtube comedian" videos and it reminds both that there's a whole huge subculture on youtube invisible to most casual youtube users (these guys get a few million views of every video they put up!) and that I do not ever want to see any more. ZeFrank, in my mind, started the "look into the camera and say something - smirk - JUMPCUT!!! - say or do something else - smirk - JUMPCUT!!!" video style and I hate it.
posted by msbrauer at 10:16 AM on April 10, 2012

msbrauer, it's not right to think so. There's a lot more to Ze Frank than jump cuts.
posted by papercake at 10:37 AM on April 10, 2012

How to dance properly was sent in 2001. I suppose that's early days for some of you young whippersnappers.
posted by feckless at 10:57 AM on April 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm just gonna leave This song link here for everyone who wants it to go listen.

It was my first exposure to what Ze frank does, and dammit it was absolutely the right thing at the right moment, and made me an instant fan, so I say roll on Frank, roll on.

::sings:: "Hey, you're O.K. You'll be fine. Just breath"
posted by Faintdreams at 12:03 PM on April 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yaaay Ze! The last one came when I had first moved in with my girlfriend. This one starts on the same day that we move into a home together.
posted by Four Flavors at 2:31 PM on April 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have never heard of people hating Ze. Really?
Either you grin or you notice he's not blinking or you find something else to do.

I still thank rocketboom [Amanda Congdon] for introducing me to him and his projects -
Like young me/now me
posted by TangerineGurl at 9:28 PM on April 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yay! I still sometimes sing "How do you work this thing?"
posted by sarahsynonymous at 10:16 PM on April 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Never seen him, never heard of him until about ten minutes ago, downloaded the vid (to avoid choppiness, my connection sometimes slows, chokes on dense vids) and played it in VLC media player -- I love the guy. He's cool. He reminds me of one of my nephews, who's a real smart ass but also a real character and a real lover, great guy; my nephew is one of many people I'm going to forward this to.

So, once again, as so often -- thank you, MetaFilter, for all the good things that've come my way through this portal of intelligence, this collaboration of fine minds and sensibilities.
posted by dancestoblue at 12:31 AM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fresh off the presses, the first real Ze episode of A Show: been a while.
posted by suedehead at 8:32 AM on April 12, 2012

It was really weird to have Ze gone. I can't even remember watching most of his shows, but I do at least have a sense of long-time enjoyment of what he did and sincerely feeling sad about the show ending.

And then I realize how long it's been, and how glad I am that he's back, no matter what a show this turns out to be.
posted by flatluigi at 8:37 AM on April 12, 2012

His other stuff is is additionally some of the most hilarious things I've ever seen on the internet. That STILL cracks me up.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 3:55 PM on April 14, 2012