While a DJ at WFMU, Tom Scharpling took the first scripted on-air from longtime friend Jon Wurster, who at the time was the drummer for the band
Superchunk. Posing as the fictional Ronald Thomas Clontle, he claimed to be the author of a book called
Rock, Rot & Rule, hailed as "The Ultimate Argument Settler" in which he irrationally classifies various music acts into ones that "rock," "rot" or "rule". Actual callers starting phoning in, irately debating Clontle’s arrgoance and historical inaccuracies.After that, the duo started to envision a radio show devoted to that type of humor on a weekly basis – inspired partially by the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and the East Village alternative comedy show, Eating It.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDEqxhfmXys
The Best Show on WFMU (2000–2013) Scharpling hosted the first episode of
The Best Show on WFMU on October 10, 2000. Starting June 5, 2001, the show was expanded to three hours filling the 8 to 11 p.m. slot, later moving to 9 p.m. to midnight on June 15, 2010. The program featured a roster of genuine callers, as well as calls in-character from musician
Jon Wurster, best known for his tenure as the drummer for
Superchunk (with occasional in-character calls from
H. Jon Benjamin,
Jon Glaser,
Peyton Reed and others). Wurster adopted a variety of personae hailing from the fictional and surreal New Jersey suburb of "Newbridge." Frequent characters include "Philly Boy Roy" (an unflinching supporter of all things
Philadelphia), "Timmy von Trimble" (a genetically modified, two-inch-tall
racist), and "The Gorch" (a senior citizen who claims that the character of
The Fonz on the TV show
Happy Days was based on him, without permission). Regular callers and in-studio guests of note have included
Todd Barry,
Andy Kindler,
Aimee Mann,
Kurt Vile,
Paul F. Tompkins,
Ted Leo,
John Hodgman, and
Patton Oswalt. One of the show's appeals comes from Scharpling's slow burn takedowns of pop culture minutiae such as
Billy Crystal's "jazz man" routine, and an infomercial promoting the
Gathering of the Juggalos festival, which inspired an
SNL sketch. Similarly, some of the more memorable segments have come from Scharpling recalling his trip to a Beatles convention and an awkward encounter with
Patti Smith. A worldwide audience listened to the show live through WFMU's Internet stream with episodes also archived on the radio station's website.
The Best Show began podcasting its shows, with the music removed due to licensing restrictions, on January 26, 2006. In October 2013, Scharpling announced his intention to end
The Best Show, with the program's finale airing on December 17.
The Best Show with Tom Scharpling (since 2014) On December 16, 2014, Scharpling revived the program independently at thebestshow.net, recording from a studio in Jersey City. The show featured a greater emphasis on lists and call-in segments, as well as featuring producers Mike Lisk, Jason Gore and Pat Byrne. In 2015, Scharpling & Wurster made an appearance on
Late Night with Seth Meyers. The pair voiced characters on an episode of
The Simpsons in 2016. Scharpling detailed the genesis of the show in his best-selling book,
It Never Ends. The show currently takes place in Los Angeles from the Forever Dog studios in North Hollywood. This new iteration of the show includes a live video stream on
Twitch, a greater emphasis on musical performances and two 24-hour episodes, which have featured the likes of
Bill Hader,
Conan O'Brien,
Jarvis Cocker,
Nathan Fielder,
Bob Odenkirk and
Sarah Squirm. == Guests ==